Master of the Shadow Clones: Book One: Game of Clones
by noheartx
Summary: Life is born. Life is taken. Life is a battle. In the end, aren't we all fighting for the same thing? The world is not so black-and-white. Only if you look with the right eyes, can its full spectrum of color be seen.
1. Chapter 1

_**Master of the Shadow Clones: Book One: Game of Clones**_

Chapter One: Out of the Foreshadow

 _The future holds many mysteries. What will happen now with the creation of the Tailed Beasts? The Ten-Tails is gone, but the Tree of Life remains. Splitting the Tailed Beasts from the tree has had some unexpected drawbacks._

 _The Tree of Life wilts now, sagging towards the earth that holds it roots everyday. I fear that the tree will begin to feed on the life of the planet when it grows too weary. It will suck the very thread of existence out of the world, and unravel it to extinction._

 _I have done much research, and much experimentation, and I have meditated for days on end, but no such solution will find me. If I cannot find it, I will charge my sons with the task, and if fortune will bless us one of them will be able to succeed where I have failed. For the sake of humanity I hope so._

"That was written by the Sage of the Six Paths?" A voice rang out.

Four figures cloaked in robes of darkness stood together in a stone ruin. The tile floor had cracks extending in every direction, where bright, green moss grew in through the spaces, and was covered in rubble. Intricate, celestial designs were carved in the walls. Most were deteriorating, but some could be made out: a cat, a fox, and what could only be described as a dolphin and a horse combined at the torso. The marble ceiling had caved in centuries ago, and the white, riveted pillars stood uselessly, as useless as the belief that had once been beheld in this temple. It was an ancient temple, one dedicated to a man who was all but forgotten now. The Sage of the Six Paths, the man who had saved the world millennia ago, and had pioneered the concept that was now 'Ninjutsu', the greatest tool of the shinobi.

"Yes. Only I would be able to read it." A second voice responded.

"What does this have to do with the Stone Tablet in Naka Shrine?" The first voice asked.

"The Uchiha are descendants of the Sage of the Six Paths. The answer may lie there." The second voice answered.

"You can't do this!" The first voice exclaimed vehemently. The figure tensed but he did not move.

"And what is your plan?" The second voice asked. The first voice choked on a growl and his breath hitched. "My seal prevents you from enacting your free will. You cannot stop me."

The second voice continued to struggle, but could not move, forward or back. He was frozen in place.

"We should get going. We only have a few weeks before we have to enact our plan." A third voice rang out. The first voice nodded and the four figures disappeared from the ruin, not a trace left behind.

XxX

"That's enough for today Itachi."

The boy named Itachi collapsed onto his butt and exhaled deeply. He was a small boy, just five years of age. He had onyx colored eyes and long, black hair that was tied into a half ponytail, so that the top part of it still hung loose, and long, thin bangs that perfectly framed his skinny, pale face. He wore the standard outfit of his clan, which consisted of a blue, loose-fitting shirt and a pair of blue ninja pants with bandages wrapped around his ankles, a pair of black, strapped sandals and a black, cloth belt tied around his waist. Emblazoned on the back of the shirt was a ceremonial fan with a white handle and a red, half-moon extension, symbolizing the fanning of flames.

"I'm getting better." Itachi stated breathily, wiping the sweat from his brow. The boy across from him chuckled. He was a bit taller than Itachi, three years older as well, and his hair was short and spiky, but they wore the same clothes. They stood in the middle of a lusciously green grass field, surrounded by a thick, wooded forest. The trees swayed in the gentle breeze as the boy walked over to Itachi.

"Yeah. Pretty soon you're gonna be as good as me." The boy answered.

"I don't know about that Shisui…" Itachi mumbled abashedly. Shisui chuckled at his clan-mate's response.

"You're too humble. C'mon, let's go get some dango." Shisui suggested. Itachi's eyes lit up at the mention of dango. He could feel his mouth begin to salivate as he pictured the tiny, sweet dumplings in his mind.

"I'd like that." Itachi answered as he stood up. Itachi followed the older boy as he strolled across the grass. His ankles were tickled by the long blades of grass but he paid it no mind.

"How is Sasuke doing?" Shisui inquired. Sasuke was Itachi's newborn brother. Another heir to the Uchiha Clan, as Itachi was himself. The Uchiha Clan was one of many clans that made their home in the Hidden Leaf Village, and they were one of the most powerful in the Elemental Nations. The special trait of their clan, also known as a bloodline limit, was known as the Sharingan. The Sharingan was a chakra based trait that activated in the eyes of an Uchiha when they experienced an event that threatened their life, though the trait had manifested itself in other ways as well. It would give its user a new, sharper perspective in battle, as well as let the user see and mimic the chakra pathways of another person, enabling them to theoretically 'copy' any technique that they saw performed.

"Father has shed some of his harsh demeanor. And mother has been doting on him constantly." Itachi responded.

"Jealous?" Shisui asked mirthfully. Itachi simply shook his head.

"Of course not. I find myself doting on him as well. A newborn life is precious. I'm glad I get to be with him while he's so young." Itachi stated thoughtfully. "Newborn life is precious." He repeated.

"Still going over that mantra in your head?" Shisui eyed him quizzically. Itachi sighed as they crossed the treeline into the forest. The great trees that the Village Hidden in the Leaves was known for loomed over them like monoliths. The shadows danced in unison with the leaves in the wind.

"Yes. 'Life is born. Life is taken. Life is a battle.'" Itachi stated, repeating the mantra once more.

"And?" Shisui nudged vocally. "Any more conclusions?" Itachi thought to himself for a second.

"It seems so unfair. But, if life, if Sasuke, is what lies in victory, then I will fight that battle for the rest of my life." He answered, his tone unflinching. Shisui nodded.

"You're right. It does seem a bit unfair. But, I agree. Life is worth fighting for, even if you lose your own in the process. That's why we strive to be the strongest in the shinobi world." Shisui added. "But I wonder if we can't break that cycle."

"You mean stop death?" Itachi asked incredulously. Shisui shook his head.

"No, that seems impossible. Everyone will die at some point. But I wonder if we can't stop the cycle of death for life. You see, these shinobi villages that we live in, we all have our own agendas. And all of us, whether we are from Hidden Rock or Hidden Leaf, believe in our own village. And when our beliefs conflict, we must fight to secure our beliefs. But are any of us really more noble than another? Aren't we all fighting for the same thing? Our own village and our own families? Inflicting death to preserve the life of our loved ones seems to perpetuate itself." Shisui philosophised. Itachi stopped in his tracks. The gentle breeze blew his hair across his face.

"Do you think that's possible?" Itachi asked in wonderment. "A world without violence?" Shisui turned around and shrugged.

"I don't know. But it seems like a goal worth fighting for doesn't it?" Shisui questioned, and Itachi nodded. "Then we'll fight for it together. But enough about death. That dango shop is going to close soon." Itachi's eyes widened at this revelation, and he picked up his pace, surpassing Shisui in a second.

"Well hurry up then!"

XxX

Four cloaked figures stood in the shadows of the trees of the Land of Fire. The moonlight poked through the spaces between the branches and leaves, but the figures still stayed shrouded in darkness.

"The container of the Nine-Tails will be giving birth soon. That is when she will be weakest." A voice whispered, carrying in the wind.

"You'll never be able to get past my Sensei. He's the strongest warrior in my village." A second voice stated through gritted teeth.

"And we will not underestimate him. That is why you have your orders as well." The first voice explained with finality. The second voice growled in disgust. "Once the Nine-Tails is unleashed, we will have our opportunity to infiltrate the Uchiha Compound. And we will not have to worry about the Fourth Hokage."

XxX

Minato Namikaze was a one of a kind man. For starters, he easily had the brightest hair in all of the village. Even brighter than the platinum-blond genetic trait of the Yamanaka Clan, one of the ninja clans that resided within the Hidden Leaf Village. Where theirs was a soft, faded blonde, his was radiant yellow, and it almost glowed like the sun if you looked at it right. His piercing blue eyes could strike fear into the hardest, most-seasoned ninja in the land, but they also held the gentleness of a panda bear that could melt the heart of...well even the hardest, most-seasoned ninja. His cheeks were angular but not too thin, quite chiseled really. His face was the perfect muscle/fat ratio; just the tiniest bit of baby fat that made him look oh-so-endearing but not enough to detract from his handsome, serious demeanor. In fact, his whole body was chiseled and the perfect muscle/fat ratio. He was in peak physical condition, though of course this was what he expected of himself. Especially as the new Hokage. He was also expected to 'look the part', as the Third Hokage had put it when he bestowed upon him the beautiful white, embroidered robe that he wore. It was a soft, silky material that hung all the way down to his ankles, and knit on the back in orange letters were the words 'Fourth Hokage'. Under that he wore a standard green flak vest, decorated with zippers and pockets with room for all kinds of ninja goodies, a pair of black ninja pants and a layer of mesh armor to protect himself.

He had been named the successor to the mantle of Hokage after his heroic efforts during the last war, the Third Shinobi World War. With his famed **Flying Thunder God Technique,** he had been able to slaughter enemy ninja by the hundreds in mere moments. Some would say it was his genius that won the war for the Hidden Leaf, though he would be the first to tell you he wasn't that special.

But he certainly was, and thank all that was holy that he was, because he needed to be for the situation he was in currently.

"MINATO! GET THIS DAMN TWERP OUT OF MY VAGINA OR I SWEAR TO GOD I'LL SEW IT SHUT!" The voice of Kushina Uzumaki, Minato's wife, screeched as her body throbbed in pain. He was sure she didn't really know what she was saying, delirious from the immense discomfort that went hand-in-hand with childbirth. Obviously, he understood the implication of no sex again forever, but there were a hundred other ways to go about depriving him of lust than physically altering herself in such a manner. I mean...how would she go to the bathroom? Of course after fifteen hours of labor no one was stressing over the small details. "I'M SERIOUS MINATO, I'LL FUCKING DO IT!" And even in this moment of anguish and rage, he could not suppress the thought of just how beautiful she really was. With her blood red hair splayed out on the operating table behind her, and her violet-tinted eyes burning with rage. The lines in her face were prominent as her muscles strained and clenched in agony. And then there was the blood/goo that was dripping from her...lady parts...which was still pretty gross. Minato was glad they had decided to go to a remote location to carry out the birth. Kushina could go a tad overboard sometimes…

"Kushina darling, if you did that, then we'd never be able to get Naruto out." He answered with a grin.

"I MEANT AFTER YOU IDIOT!"

"Right of course you did." He was very good at keeping a calm exterior. Although really, and this didn't happen often, but he was shitting bricks in his head. "This is normal right?" He asked, turning to an older woman with dark skin and dark brown hair dressed in a white robe.

"Yes, quite normal. I remember the things I said to Hiruzen when I gave birth to Asuma." Biwako answered with a chuckle. Biwako Sarutobi was a kind, gentle woman who had retired from the ninja forces long ago. She was married to the Third Hokage, and a gifted Medical Ninja as well, which was why she was able to be a part of a top-secret operation such as this. That and Minato needed someone there with a cool head, because as level-headed as he usually was, he was about to be a father. And they hadn't even gotten to the hard part yet.

The hard part, would be successfully containing the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox that resided within Kushina's body. Kushina was a Jinchuriki, which was a term Minato despised, though he could think of no better name for it. 'The power of the human sacrifice' was a powerful thing indeed. The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, also known as the 'Kyuubi' and 'King of the Tailed Beasts', was a powerful entity, sealed away inside of Kushina with a special study of Ninjutsu called Sealing, which consisted of elements of chakra manipulation, calligraphy and creativity. Sealing Techniques were some of the highest level of techniques in Ninjutsu, and they were extremely dangerous to work with, but they were also some of the most brilliant. They could make anything possible, like for instance sealing a powerful chakra demon into a cute little girl with red hair. And if that demon were to happen to escape…

"Are you ready Sensei?" Minato asked, shifting his eyes to another presence in the room.

"Ready when you are kid." Minato's Sensei, Jiraiya, answered. Jiraiya was one of the most famous ninja in the Leaf Village, once part of a team known as The Legendary Sannin. They were revered as the most gifted team the village had ever produced, taught by the Third Hokage, Minato's famed predecessor. A long, spiky, white mane of hair stretched down his back all the way to his waist tied in a ponytail, and he had mirth-filled raven-colored eyes that oozed with confidence and ego. On his face were two red, painted-on lines, one on each side, that went from the bottom of his eyelid to his jawline, as well as a wart on the right side of his nose that he would swear was painted on as well. He wore a pale green kimono shirt and a matching green pair of rolled up ninja pants, under which was a layer of mesh armor. Over his shirt was a red haori-vest with a yellow sun on each pectoral muscle. On his hands he wore a pair of matching green handguards, and his feet were fit with wooden geta-sandals that klik-klomped everywhere he went, unless he didn't want you to hear him. On his head, instead of the traditional Hidden Leaf headband, he wore a horned headband with the character for 'Oil' emblazoned on it proudly, a mark of his Sage training with the Toads of Mount Myoboku. He usually also wore a large, ornate scroll on his back, the Toad Summoning Contract, but he was without it right now. "This will work right?"

"Of course. I'm not sloppy like you. I cross and dot my characters correctly." Minato stated with a grin, remembering a specific time when Jiraiya had made a mistake on a seal.

"That was one time, and I thought we were never going to speak of it again." Jiraiya defended.

"That poor horse will never be the same again." Was all Minato responded with. Jiraiya simply rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. Just roll out the damn scroll." Minato obliged and pulled out a hand-sized scroll from his robe. He unfurled it and laid it over Kushina's exposed stomach, which bore an intricate seal in a circular pattern, right around her navel. The scroll displayed a similar pattern.

"She's ready now Minato." Biwako informed Minato, and he nodded in response.

"Okay Jiraiya, begin." Jiraiya nodded at his prodigious student, and they begun to channel chakra into the seal. The characters in the seal began to glow a fiery orange, until a striking, crimson light exploded from the seal. A circle of pure white light erupted around it, and the two lights began to swim around each other like fish in the ocean. Brilliant pink lights glided across the walls of the cave they were in, mixing with the torchlights that lined the walls. They were bathed in a radiant warmth as the red light was slowly contained, and the white light reeled in the red light, collapsing into the scroll, signaling that it had been a success. At the same time, the cry of a newborn baby pierced the air, as well as Minato's heart. His son was here.

"Minato, Kushina...I would like to introduce you to your son." Biwako spoke softly, her eyes glazing over with tenderness for this newborn life. She wrapped the small, blonde haired bundle of joy in a blue blanket and held him out to Minato. With trembling hands he slowly took his son and brought him close to his chest, chuckling happily as he did. His eyes shimmered with excitement.

"Hello Naruto." He greeted his child. "Hello my son." Bright blue eyes gazed up at Minato. He no longer cried, now just curious about, well everything really. It was his first few moments alive, and it was almost incomprehensible. His chubby cheeks were cute and rosy, and they were depicted by three unique whisker marks like everyone else-

Wait. Three whisker marks?

"Well look at that, the fox managed to leave his mark somehow." The Hokage stated, poking gently at the whisker marks. They were like battle scars, ones that Naruto would bear from the day he was born to the day he died. They were quite distinguishing really.

"Let...me…" Minato heard Kushina's weak whisper and immediately obliged. He slowly and carefully deposited the baby into her hands and hugged them both. He admired his wife now, as she had never looked more beautiful to him. She looked so serene and peaceful, and with Naruto in her hand it was as if she were engulfed by a wave of love. The look of pure bliss that spread across Kushina's face was something Minato would never forget. "Naruto...my son…"

Suddenly Minato reacted. He had barely a moment to sense the incoming wave of chakra, and not a sound was made by the intruder, but his instincts had kicked in, and he had deflected the blade of an assassin inches to the left of Kushina's head, along with Naruto. The blade stuck out straight from the stone operating table from above, right through a lock of Kushina's hair.

"Assassin!" As Minato's voice roared in anger twelve ANBU, that is members of the Special Assassination and Tactical squad, which were in short the Hokage's personal soldiers, poured into the room and surrounded the operating table. It was an odd sight really. The assassin was standing on the tip of his sword almost hovering above his intended target. He was veiled in a black cloak and wore a hood that masked his face. Not very tall either, the size of an average teenager at best. Seeing that his initial strike had failed, the intruder simply contorted himself impossibly in the air, swinging around his sword and with the momentum flying up into the air, taking the sword with him all in the same motion. As he ascended, the twelve ANBU all jumped into the air to meet him, brandishing various katanas and other sharp weapons. As they converged on him, there was simply a flash of lightning, and then a rain of blood as he slaughtered the ANBU with one lightning chakra infused swing of his sword. Each body had been cut in two, and thus were spilling out tremendous amounts of blood and other bodily fluids. Crimson rained down upon the operating table, showering Kushina, Minato and Naruto in the death of their comrades. As the man descended again, Minato could tell the man was going for Kushina again. And then that was when he saw it. The Sharingan.

He had no time to think about it however as the assassin's blade came for him this time, and he was only barely able to deflect it. It still knicked him in the cheek as it went by, drawing a menial amount of blood. He could do nothing however as the man brought his foot around and smashed Minato across the room into the cave wall. Biwako attempted to engage him, but she was simply knocked aside as if she were an academy student. Jiraiya had more success, as he jumped up and kicked the assassin clear across the room. The assailant smashed into the cave wall with a resounding CRACK.

"Minato!" Jiraiya called out as he jumped in front of Kushina protectively.

"I'm on it Sensei!" Minato, using his famed technique, appeared next to Kushina in a brilliant yellow flash. Though before he could do anything else, the assailant seemed to melt out of thin air and repay Jiraiya for his attack with a similar kick. Jiraiya was sent tumbling this time. Minato whipped out a three-pronged kunai with a yellow seal tag wrapped around the handle, and slashed at the enemy, but his strike was easily deflected. The assassin once again kicked Minato away, and jumped on top of Kushina, who was too weak to push him off. He stared straight into her eyes with his Sharingan, and she was lulled under some sort of trance, before her seal exploded with energy once more. The assailant was blown away by the energy, and the cave imploded on itself as the Kyuubi was unleashed into the world. Kushina screamed in agony as the beast was torn from her body, though it was drowned out by the ferocious roar of the fox. Minato and Jiraiya, who were buried in rubble, began to sweat as a malevolent wave of violent energy washed over them. Minato had Naruto wrapped up beneath him as tightly as he could, protecting him from the falling cave around him. In a moment he flashed next to Kushina, then with Kushina, transported himself to a remote location, to keep them safe.

The worst had come to fruition.

XxX

"What's wrong Sasuke?" Itachi asked his little brother as he attempted to sooth his crying. Sasuke was reaching out with his hands, waving them around in hopes of grabbing onto anything. Itachi had become wary of him when he was like this; more than a few times had Sasuke latched onto one of his locks of hair, and once he latched on he would not relinquish it, no matter how much Itachi pleaded.

' _Life is born. Life is taken.'_

Itachi sighed as he begun to rock Sasuke back and forth, which slowly but surely seemed to mollify little Sasuke. He was a cute little boy, with a thick, pointy head of black hair. He had chubby, squishy cheeks and a small, round button nose. He was wrapped up in a blue blanket, though it wasn't doing much to contain him.

' _Life is a battle.'_

Itachi continued to rock his brother back and forth as Sasuke's eyes slowly began to flutter, like a butterfly's wings. Itachi smiled.

"Don't worry Sasuke. I'll protect you, no matter what." Itachi promised.

The respite was short lived however, as suddenly the most vile, negative feeling Itachi had ever felt washed over him like a tidal wave of warm, liquid hatred. Sasuke began to cry again, twice as loud and fearful his time. Itachi even started to quiver.

"What...is this?" He asked himself, standing up and unconsciously pulling Sasuke a bit closer. He looked around in every direction, but there were no signs of any threats. None that he could pick out at least. Something was very wrong though. The urge to run to his mother and father overwhelmed him, but both of his parents were out right now. His father on police-work and his mother visiting a friend.

"Shisui…" He whispered. Shisui would know what to do. He had to find him.

Itachi ran out of his house in the direction of Shisui's house. His feet stamped loudly on the earthen road as he ran as fast as he could, being careful not to drop Sasuke. The dim lanterns that hung from every small house were a blur to Itachi as he sprinted by them. Suddenly there was a deafening explosion, followed by a guttural roar. He stopped in his tracks and his eyes shot to the skyline. His eyes widened and his mouth fell open at the sight of the Kyuubi just beyond the high walls that surrounded the Leaf Village, snout raised up and jaws wide open. It almost seemed like an illustration from a children's book against the backdrop of the deep night sky.

"Kyuubi…?" He shook his head and continued running, pushing himself faster and harder than he ever had before. He had to find Shisui.

XxX

There weren't many situations when Jiraiya of the Sannin felt himself backed into a corner. He was an extremely clever man, and he was usually the one who controlled the flow of a battle.

"Damn it all to hell!" He shouted as he avoided another blast of fire from the assailant. He was forced to leap away again when the massive claw of the Kyuubi came smashing down on his hiding place. "Anytime you want to re-appear is fine with me Minato!" He sarcastically bellowed, cursing the absence of his student. And he wasn't really mad, because he would have done the same thing in Minato's shoes, but he was really and royally fucked right now. "Alright, time to counter-attack." He jumped out of his hiding place and began to ready a technique, but before he could finish, the assailant appeared in his face. He yelped in surprise as he was forced to stick his arm up to block the assassins leg. He couldn't get it up in time to cleanly block the blow, so he was sent tumbling to the side by the kick. He quickly replaced himself with a log via the **Substitution Technique** as the Kyuubi's other claw hurdled at him at what seemed like light speed, crushing the log into a thousand little pieces. He looked down at his pant leg, where there was a tiny gash across it. "Damn that was close." He looked back up at the fox, and he was entranced by its eyes, its eyes that now bore the same pattern as the Sharingan. He didn't know what that meant, but whatever it was would be another issue for another day. A day when he was alive hopefully.

Suddenly there was a great yellow flash, and Minato appeared, his body crackling with electricity. An effect of the **Lightning Armor Technique** , an ability he had been able to figure out after a few encounters with the Raikage, the leader of the Village Hidden in the Clouds. In his hand was a magnificently large swirling ball of glowing, blue chakra; the signature technique of Minato, called the Rasengan, though this one was much larger than a normal one. He thrust it into the face of the giant beast, sending it crashing down on its back. He landed next to Jiraiya.

"Sorry Sensei."

"About time. Are Naruto and Kushina safe?" Jiraiya asked.

"Yes. Kushina is working on a seal. But we don't have much time." Minato explained. They were forced to separate when the hooded assailant appeared between them, slashing at them with his blade. Minato bounded off of a tree and shot off like a cannon back at the assassin, clashing his kunai with the enemy's blade inches from his face. He was met by the nightmarish visage of a man with the Sharingan, but he could not make out his face. He was a young boy though, not a man.

"Who are you?" Minato asked, but he received no response as the assassin vanished and reappeared behind Minato. Minato whirled around and blocked the assassin's slash, and they exchanged a few more blows before Minato exploded with electricity, knocking the assailant backwards. He vanished as the claw of the Kyuubi came crashing down once more, attempting to skewer him. He re-appeared next to Jiraiya.

"What do you mean working on a seal?" Jiraiya questioned hastily, now that they were reunited.

"We're going to seal the fox inside of Naruto." Minato explained, flipping through a set of hand seals rapidly. "Fire!" He commanded Jiraiya, who regained his wits and followed up with his own technique. Jiraiya expelled a giant, crimson fire dragon that rocketed towards towards the Kyuubi with the **Fire Style: Fire Dragon Missile Technique** , while Minato blew out a light gust of sparkling wind, the **Wind Style: Heavenly Gale Technique** , which superheated the dragon, turning it golden-white. The dragon crashed into the fox, exploding violently on contact like fireworks. The hooded man took this moment to jump up next to the fox, and with some sort of technique that left no visible trace, teleported them away. Jiraiya and Minato's faces contorted with shock as they saw the fox reappear within the village walls.

"How the hell-" Jiraiya started to say, but shook his head and cut himself off.

"He must have a space/time technique like I do. He has the Sharingan as well." Minato stated, causing Jiraiya's eyes to bug out.

"You can't be serious-" Jiraiya started to say, but an explosion from the center of the village cut him off.

"I am, but we don't have time to figure out what it means right now. We need to get back to Kushina and Naruto." Jiraiya nodded at his former charge and put a hand on his shoulder. A great yellow flash flared up from their spot, and they vanished instantly.

XxX

Itachi heard another explosion as he ascended the steps to Shisui's residence. All of the lights were off, which gave birth to a fearful feeling in Itachi's stomach.

' _What if he's not home…'_

He burst through the door anyway, hoping that he would not be so unlucky.

"Shisui!" He called out, panting rather harshly. "Shisui!" He called again.

"Itachi! You felt it too?" Shisui rounded the corner of his house and almost ran into Sasuke. The younger boy nodded up at his best-friend.

"Yes. I don't know where mom and dad are." He stated, his nerves firing on the command of his fear. He could hardly stand still.

"I don't know where my parents are either. But we should get to the shelters. We should be safe there." The older boy suggested. The Hidden Leaf Village was equipped with emergency shelters large enough to hold the population of the village, in case of natural disasters such as this.

Itachi nodded. And they dashed out of the house. As they ran they came across Naka Shrine, a place of worship for their clan. A small, wooden paneled building with a triangle shaped roof and a large wooden pillar gate at the entrance. It was there where the clan would gather when issues needed to be addressed, or when ceremonies were held. And it was there where some of the Uchiha's most sacred relics were kept. Itachi couldn't help but glance at it as they passed, and as he did something caught his eye.

"Wait." Itachi whispered, skidding to a halt. Shisui followed suit a few feet ahead.

"What?" Shisui whispered back.

"I saw something. Someone." Itachi clarified. "There! See?" He pointed and sure enough, there sneaking into the temple was a group of three black cloaked figures.

"That can't be good." Shisui commented. "What do we do?"

Itachi stood frozen in place, contemplating his options. On one hand, he wanted to confront these trespassers, and he wondered if they had any connection to the Kyuubi suddenly appearing in the village. One the other hand...well the other option was in his hand.

' _Sasuke…'_

He would not dare risk his little brother's life. His little brother was literally the most important thing in the world to him. The Uchiha secrets didn't even come close.

Of course, while he was thinking, the choice was made for him. He barely had time to blink as one of the assailants came flying at him. Apparently they had been spotted. Itachi barely jumped out of the way of the man's strike, almost falling over has he landed.

"Itachi! Run!" Shisui shouted, brandishing a kunai and charging at the hooded figure. He disappeared with a **Flash Step** , and appeared behind the figure, who easily swirled around and countered gracefully. Within another second, Shisui was skewered on the end of a hidden short short that came out of the man's sleeve. Blood oozed freely out of the open wound, down the blade of the sword until gravity pulled it to the ground. Drip. Drip.

"No…" Itachi was in utter disbelief. Shisui was considered a genius among the shinobi forces. Even the older, veteran ninja in the forces praised his immense skill. And he was known for his speed. For this man to be so fast as to easily catch Shisui off-guard…

"Run!" Shisui screeched in agony. His voice wavered as the man jerked on the blade, causing more internal damage as he did. The assailant simply pulled the blade out of Shisui's stomach and kicked him to the ground, as if he'd been through that motion a thousand times before.

"Sorry little boy. Nothing personal." The voice apologized, slowly advancing on Itachi. But Itachi was livid. He would NOT let this man do the same to him or Sasuke.

"It is for me." He didn't really understand what happened next, but his vision flashed, and suddenly he saw the world in a whole new light. Time seemed to slow down around him and he could see the man's chakra pathways pumping pure energy throughout his body, like veins pumping blood from the heart. And then everything flashed again, and he really had no idea what was happening. But the word **Amaterasu** echoed in his head, ever-so-faintly, like a dream calling out to him. And next the assailant was blocked by a wall of powerful, burning black fire. The man was surprised, but made no move to jump over or go around the wall of fire, as if he knew just how dangerous it was. Itachi didn't know where the fire came from exactly, but he took this opportunity to flee the scene, clutching Sasuke tighter than he ever had before. Now he had to make it to the shelter, to let the Hokage know what he had seen.

XxX

"The black flames of Amaterasu. Only Madara Uchiha was known to be able to conjure them." One of the hooded figures stated, walking up to the flames.

"Should we go after him?" Another of the figures questioned, the one that had killed Shisui.

"Would be a waste of effort. We can get what we need and be long gone from the village before the Hokage is alerted to our presence." The first voice dismissed. They walked back over to the temple and entered with their third member. Usually, only a member of the Uchiha Clan would be able to enter the temple, as there was a great stone seal behind the door, and only one with the Sharingan could open it. But the hooded figure was easily able to bypass it with his own visual technique. His eyes flashed purple, and the ripple patterns within his eyes began to pulse until the stone slid aside, granting them access. The sandstone walls on the inside of the temple were dimly lit by torchlight. The assailants made not a sound as they walked across the tan and brown tatami mat floor. "There." One of the voices, the apparent leader, directed, pointing at the seventh tatami mat on the far right. One of his companions walked over and lifted the tile, exposing a stairwell to a secret basement. The leader grabbed one of the torches and descended into the basement, his two companions a step behind him.

The basement was completely devoid of any light, except for that which radiated from the torch. They walked across the gray stone floor until they came to a shrine of some sort. On a small stone pedestal was a stone tablet with an ancient form of writing on it, similar to the one this group of mysterious figures had seen in the other temple. The leader crouched down in front of it and began to read.

 _The Tailed Beasts have become restless. They roam free and wreak havoc upon the land at their own will. Once such gentle creatures, they are now lost to the Ten-Tails lingering madness. And the Tree of Life grows weaker with every passing moment. It's branches have sunk deep into the earth, intertwining with its roots, almost as if it is pulling itself down._

 _I fear that if the Tree of Life is pushed to its breaking point, the Ten-Tails will be reborn again. Somehow, it will manifest itself and take what it believes belongs to it back. And if the Ten-Tails is reborn, then the world will meet its end._

 _I have continued my research, and I may have found a way to keep this world intact. Above our world lies a vast expanse of space. What exactly lies in it I can only guess; other worlds or other life-forms perhaps. But I have discovered one thing. A sort of gravitational field that swallows all that is caught in its grasp, and nothing can escape. If one with the Rinnegan were to use the_ _ **Catastrophic Planetary Devastation**_ _and bind the beasts together, then shoot them into this gluttonous vortex, they would have no way out. And they would stay there for the rest of eternity, where they belong. But in order to find this gravitational field, one must find where Askr Yggdrasil points to the sky._

"Hmm...Akr Yggidrazhil..." The leader mused as he finished reading. "Very well. We're leaving." The leader stated apathetically. He stood up and walked away from the shrine, his two companions following him closely. The light receded from the secret shrine as they slowly ascended the steps and replaced the tatami mat, leaving the basement shrouded in pitch black darkness.

XxX

"Naruto...I'm so sorry my son." Kushina whispered regretfully as she took her infant son in her arms and hugged him. "I won't be here to raise you...to love you...I'd give you the world if I could." Tears rolled down her cheek as she began to quiver. They were alone in this room, one of the many safe-houses Minato knew about in the Land of Fire. It was a lonely room, consisting of only a bed covered in a blue blanket, a small area rug laid over the hardwood floor, and a door that led to a bathroom. "This is the worst fate I could bestow upon you. I just wish we had more time." Suddenly, Minato and Jiraiya appeared in the center of the room.

"Kushina have you-" Minato started to say, but stopped himself when he saw Kushina's current state. He rushed over to her and engulfed her and his son in a hug. Jiraiya sighed, disheartened by the visual. Kushina sniffed and nodded at her husband.

"I'll be okay. This is what we have to do." She stated resolutely. "I'd gladly give my life for my son." Jiraiya looked down at the ground as Kushina said this. He had hoped for better, but deep down he knew Kushina was fading away. Usually a Jinchuriki was killed as soon as the Tailed Beast was extracted from their body. But to see Kushina hanging on for this long was miraculous.

"I'll do anything I can to help." Jiraiya declared suddenly, looking up at his student, eyes brimming with determination. "Anything for the two of you." He really loved them, they were the closest thing he had to a family these days.

"Thank you Jiraiya…" Kushina stood then, extricated herself from Minato's embrace, handed him Naruto and pulled a scroll out from behind her. "This is the seal. I used the notes you gave me Minato, everything is as you designed it to be." She paused, swallowing down her sadness. "I added in one little extra part. But, I need one more thing to finish it." She slowly unraveled the scroll and laid it on the bed. She took one of Minato's hands and without warning pricked it with a kunai. Crimson blood slowly bubbled out of the wound, but Minato stayed put, knowing his wife had some sort of purpose. She dabbed a dry brush on the wound and then brought it to the seal, finishing it with a few simple strokes. "This will let each of us live on in the seal, and when the seal becomes unstable, each of us will have one chance to stabilize it and talk to Naruto." Minato's eyes widened at this information.

"Kushina...that's amazing." He stated in awe. She simply rolled up the scroll and held it out to Minato.

"It's the least we can do." She answered, wiping away her tears. Minato accepted the scroll and put it inside his robe.

"Are you going to be able to do this?" He asked concernedly. She nodded.

"I have enough energy to help you. I won't last much longer." She stated with sorrow.

"Then we won't wait any longer." Minato declared. Kushina and Jiraiya both nodded at him, and with another great yellow flash, they were gone. Leaving the lonely room even lonelier.

XxX

The destruction to the Leaf Village was horrendous. Hundreds of structures had crumbled under the sudden attack. Giant stone slabs of what used to be houses and buildings fell to the ground with mighty force, crushing whatever may have been unfortunate enough to be under them. Mutilated corpses were strewn about, hanging off of buildings and lying in the streets. Fires from the many explosions raged and clawed at the night sky, as if trying to tear the heavens down. Cries of injured civilians and shinobi alike pierced the air like a symphony of anguish.

The Third Hokage could not contain his emotions at the sight of his beloved village. He was beyond words. He had strived to protect this village for years, and to see it in such a devastating state...beyond words.

"Dammit…" He muttered to himself. He was dressed in a suit of dark green Kabuto-like battle armor. He wore a helmet that framed his wrinkly, bearded face and had two long sashes of cloth tied to the back, flowing freely. His ankles and feet were taped up tightly with bandages, and in his hand was a thick, black staff with gold tipped ends. The staff suddenly grew an eye.

"Hiruzen...there is no time to waste." The staff spoke deeply. The staff was really the Monkey King Enma, personal summon of the Third Hokage. He had **Transformed** into the diamond hard staff, also known as the Adamantine Nyoi. Hiruzen nodded.

"I know. Ready?" Hiruzen waited for no reply as he leapt up at the Nine-Tails. He brought his staff about and pointed it at the fox. The staff suddenly shot forward, extending to impossible lengths as it speared the fox right in the chest. The Kyuubi was sent sprawling backwards and the staff continued to extend, dragging the body of the beast through the rubble of the village. He retracted his staff and landed as the Kyuubi quickly recovered, roaring ferociously. Suddenly Minato, who was holding Naruto, Kushina, and Jiraiya appeared next to him.

"We'll take it from here Hiruzen." Minato stated. Hiruzen had no time to respond as Minato threw one of his three-pronged kunai at the beast, and as it impacted, he appeared in a flash, and then with another flash both he and the beast were gone. Hiruzen whirled around to Kushina and Jiraiya.

"What-" Again he was cut off as Minato reappeared for a split second, and then in another was gone with Kushina and Jiraiya. An explosion rocked the earth and Hiruzen turned around once again, his gaze following the bright light from far outside the walls of the village. "Follow the Fourth Hokage!" He shouted, charging ahead as fast as he could. He heard the various cries of affirmation as many of his fellow ninja jumped in line with him, all heading for the scene on the horizon. Hiruzen just hoped they wouldn't find a dead Hokage at the end of the road, but the feeling in his stomach told him otherwise.

' _Minato…'_

XxX

Far outside the village walls, the battle with the Kyuubi raged. Minato and Jiraiya had taken to distracting the beast, and the hooded assailant, while Kushina readied the seal. The scroll with the seal was unraveled on the ground in front of her, and placed on top of the center was Naruto, who no longer had the protection of his blanket. Instead he too bore the marking of a seal on his stomach, one extremely similar to the one Kushina had.

Minato was engaging the assailant while Jiraiya worked on distracting the fox. Jiraiya at this point had summoned Gamabunta, the boss of the Toad Summons, who was NOT pleased with the situation in any way.

"The Nine-Tails!? One of these days you're going to lead me to my death Jiraiya!" The Toad bellowed as he drew his short sword.

"Sorry Gamabunta, but we're backed into a corner right now." Jiraiya answered from atop his head.

"Hmph. Is Minato okay?" Gamabunta asked as he leapt high into the air with his powerful toad legs.

"Yes. For now."

"I don't like the sound of that."

"Me neither." Jiraiya answered solemnly as they came crashing down on the Kyuubi like a meteor. The fox howled and exploded with malevolent chakra, sending Gamabunta flying backwards. As they flew through the air Jiraiya flipped through some hand seals. "Give me some oil 'Bunta!"

"Okay!" Gamabunta righted himself in the air and landed on his feet, bracing himself with his short blade. Gamabunta shot a stream of thick, brown oil out of his mouth, and Jiraiya ignited it with a breath of fire, creating a sort of super hot laser beam that blasted the Kyuubi onto its back.

Meanwhile, Minato was stuck in a battle of space/time; for every time he used his technique, the enemy would use his own as well. All of his attacks were missing by mere millimeters, or nanoseconds, in this case. But he was getting closer everytime. Just a few more and-

RIIIP.

Both fighters jumped away from each other as the sound of metal tearing apart cloth tore through the air. Minato smiled, as he knew he had the upperhand. He had been able to get close enough to slice off the attacker's hood. Now he would see who he was. Though, when it was revealed, he wish he had never seen it.

"O...Obito?" Like a ghost from his past, Obito was there, staring at his former sensei. Obito had short, spiky black hair, and his eyes were tinted with the mark of the Sharingan, though it was slightly different than Minato had ever seen it. His pupils were open circles instead of black dots, and protruding from the pupil were three scythe-shaped markings. Minato was in utter shock. Obito was his old student, but it was impossible for him to be standing there in front of him. He had died not even a year ago, during the Third Shinobi World War.

Obito struggled and struggled, but he could not will himself to say anything, due to the seal imprinted on him by his captor. He could only stare at Minato blankly.

"Obito...why…?" Minato asked again, his heart panging with the feeling of betrayal. Obito continued to struggle, and Minato could see his face contorted with effort.

"I'm...sorry...Sensei…" He said, his words strained with exertion. Suddenly he turned and dashed away, vanishing into the woods. Minato was frozen in place as he watched his former charge retreat.

"Minato! I'm ready!" Minato heard his wife's call and snapped out of it, appearing beside her no more than a second later.

"Can you use your **Chakra Chains** to subdue the fox? We only need to hold him for a few moments." He asked, and she nodded faithfully. "Okay. When I give the signal, you grab the fox. I'll take care of the rest."

"Okay. I love you Minato."

"I love you too." Minato steeled himself as he shared one final embrace with his lover. They broke apart and Kushina turned to face the fox. "Sensei! Get out of there!" Minato shouted as he took his place beside his son. Jiraiya followed his student's orders and dodged a blast of pressurized wind before he appeared next to him. "Now Kushina!" Kushina brought her hands together to channel her chakra, and great, glowing chains made of pure chakra flew out of her body. They lashed and slashed at the fox, who could not fend off all of the chains from multiple angles. They eventually captured and ensnared the fox, who began to writhe and thrash about in an attempt to escape. Minato flew through a long string of hand seals before he placed his hand on Naruto's stomach. Chains of pure black chakra burst out from the scroll around Naruto, flying into the air towards the Kyuubi. Meanwhile, the spectre image of the God of Death appeared in front of Minato. The God of Death was a demonic looking beast, with horns protruding from its head, covered in chains and a tattered black robe. Without warning it reached into Minato's stomach with one hand, and pulled out a manifestation of Minato's soul. Minato could not move with the God of Death grasping onto his soul in such a way. The black chakra chains from the scroll raveled themselves around the fox now, and Kushina's chains slowly retracted from the beast. The black chains lifted the Nine-Tails into the air and in one violent motion, ripped it into two pieces, causing the fox to howl in agony. The two halves of the beast were brought down and sealed into Naruto and Minato, and at the same time the God of Death ripped Minato's soul out of his body. His eyes glazed over as he collapsed to the ground next to his son. Kushina crawled over to her husband and son and wrapped herself around her baby as she too faded away, the last of her energy ebbing away.

It was at this point that the cavalry arrived. The Third Hokage, along with the bulk of his surviving ninja force, landed in the clearing only to see their Hokage's lifeless corpse on the ground. They hadn't the slightest idea how Minato had defeated the fox, but they were eternally grateful to the dead man. Two ninja in particular,a young boy and a young girl, were especially devastated by the sight, for MInato had been their mentor as well. The boy was slender and muscular, with silver, spiky hair and a blue mask over the bottom of his face. One of his eyes was simply black, but the other bore the pattern of the Sharingan, a gift from his late teammate, Obito. The girl was a bit taller than the boy, slender as well, and had shoulder length brown hair. On her face below her brown eyes were two rectangular purple markings. The girl started to cry and wrapped the boy in a hug, while the boy just continued to gaze at Minato's body in disbelief.

Jiraiya slowly trudged over the the spot where they had collapsed, and he too fell to his knees. He reached out and grabbed Minato's hand, squeezing it tightly as a pulse of heartache tore through his body and a tear fell from his eye.

"Minato...why didn't you tell me? I would have taken your place…"

Suddenly a bolt of lightning arced across the sky, and Jiraiya looked up in awe. He steeled himself and took baby Naruto into his arms, rocking him back and forth so as to calm him.

"You're gonna be okay Naruto. I'll take care of you now…"

XxX

 **A/N: Hey. Look at that. I re-did this chapter. Again.**

 **I know it's been awhile, and I must sound like a broken record, but I'd like to welcome you to the rebirth of Master of the Shadow Clones. Although now it's Master of the Shadow Clones: Book One: Game of Clones. I've been wanting to do this for awhile now, so I stopped being lazy and I'm really doing it this time. Everything is changing, I'm just going with what inspires me.**

 **I'm going to keep the old story up, mostly for reference for myself, but as you can see I'm starting an entirely new story. I just need a clean slate. And I'm going to be posting this chapter by chapter, so I would say give it 2-3 weeks between each chapter. I'm trying to give myself a little leeway there, hopefully it will be less but it took me a little time to really work out this chapter. I want it to be good.**

 **As you can see the story has taken some new direction. I'm still working this out as I go, but I know the general direction. Itachi is going to be a main character. He's extremely important in the Naruto verse, and he needs to be a central figure in this story. Obito is also in this, as you can see, but his story will play out much differently. I like Obito a lot but I felt that evil Obito was a bit...I don't know...unbelievable? He's such such a nice kid. So now he's being held against his will. And Rin is alive, though I don't know what I'm doing with her yet. She'll be semi-important I'm sure. I'll continue to introduce other characters as I see fit. Most of them will be different from their canon counterparts.**

 **That's all for now. I'll be posting chapter two soon. But I'd just like to thank all of you who have stuck with this. Seriously it's fucking amazing, and I hope that with this I can finally give you what you deserve. Thanks again, and I'll be back soon, I swear.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: In the Shadow of Fire

From the monumental, stone walls of the village to the faces of the past Hokage carved into the Hokage mountain, the Village Hidden in the Leaves had never before looked to be in such a state of desolation. The devastation was truly magnificent. No place in the village was the same, or would ever be the same again. Roads, houses and forest-terrain alike and been upheaved from the earth as if the hands of some colossal, omnipotent being had sunk their fingers into the earth and pulled with all their might. Buildings in every district mirrored the images of the scorched, war-torn lands all of the veteran ninja had seen during the war. Lands that had been so ravaged by war that the most horrendous cataclysms and calamities from the tales of the poets and the bards themselves would have tucked-tail and ran away in fear.

And to see a Hidden Village, no less one of the Great Five, in such a state was troubling indeed. The Hidden Villages were pillars of the lands in which they served; for the Hidden Leaf it was the Land of Fire. These Hidden Villages took on missions for clients of all kinds who needed the use of the special set of skills ninja provided. Truthfully, the ninja were far more intrinsically ingrained into the woven sheet of fabric that was society than they should have been. They almost had more power than the governments in which they served, for in reality, there was no samurai alive that could kill the Hokage, or any of the Five Kage for that matter. The ninja truly reigned supreme.

But the effects of such a disaster would be felt too; it would bring about an unbalancing. The scales would be tipped ever so slightly. The Hidden Leaf Village was viewed by the rest as one of the stronger ones, coming out of the last war _mostly_ victorious. It was hard to say anyone came home from war a victor.

But after the last war, which all Five Great Nations had a hand in in some way, shape or form, the Leaf Village came out looking _damn_ good. Mostly because of Minato Namikaze, the recently-appointed-and-now-deceased Fourth Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

During the last war, the Hidden Leaf found themselves entrenched in hostilities with the Hidden Mist, the Hidden Cloud, and of course, the Hidden Rock. The Hidden Rock had been where most of their resources were directed. The fighting had started in one of the smaller bordering countries, the Land of Grass, between the Hidden Leaf and Hidden Rock. Rock had decided to push past their boundaries in an attempt to expand their territory. The Land of Grass was abundant in resources that the Land of Earth was quite lacking in, and so to Rock it seemed natural that they would expand just a bit and take what they needed. Of course a few skirmishes and dead Grass ninja later, and rumors buzzing about to go along with them, the word was on everybody's lips. War. And so, through matters not many people were entirely sure on, the Hidden Leaf Village came to the Hidden Grass's aid in fending off the Hidden Rock invaders. Slowly the size of the skirmishes and the count of the dead rose, until before anyone really realized it, the nation was embroiled in the oven of war. The Grass Country had become a warzone, and when it no longer became convenient to do battle there, the fighting expanded a bit to both neighboring border countries; the Land of Rain and the Land of Waterfalls. And as the fighting got worse and worse the more and more factions decided to involve themselves.

The Village Hidden in the Clouds came to blows with the Hidden Leaf a few times, and it was the first time anyone of the younger generation could remember seeing two Kage fight head-to-head. Of course, Neither Minato nor Ei, the current Raikage of the Hidden Cloud Village, could call themselves Kage at the time, but such events were sure to go down in history and be passed down as legend. In the end, neither the Hidden Leaf nor the Hidden Cloud decided to pursue aggressions against one another, and they even went as far a to form a sort of 'truce' to take Hidden Rock down a peg or two and force them into ceasing hostilities. Although this did not mean that the Cloud and Leaf were allies in any way.

Hostilities had finally come to a close after one key mission that had been performed by Minato and his team. The mission had been to destroy Kannabi Bridge, one of the main supply lines Hidden Rock had been using to support their forces deep in Hidden Grass. During the process, one of MInato's students, Obito, had lost his life to two Rock ninja. Rin, the girl with the purple markings under her eyes, had been captured and Obito had somehow been able to convince the usually cold-hearted Kakashi, the boy with the facemask, to rescue her. Obito knocked Kakashi out of the way of an Earth Style Technique and took the hit for him, resulting in his death. As a last gift to Kakashi, a birthday present no less, Obito gave him his one remaining, newly-activated Sharingan eye, which paved the way to Rin and Kakashi's freedom, and eventually, Kakashi's fame, although Kakashi would never be the same. After destroying the bridge, Rock's forces started to wither, and a few final encounters with the Hidden Leaf's Yellow Flash were enough to drive the nail into the coffin of the Third Shinobi World War.

The rest was recent history. Still fresh in the minds of all who would be called survivors. The Hidden Leaf had come home victors, riding the metaphorical stallion of triumph and gallantry. And then...well...

A horse is only as good as the distance it's legs can carry it. Or as long as it isn't trampled by a mountain sized, mythical Demon Fox.

"And you say he had the Sharingan?"

Hiruzen turned from the giant window in front of him to meet the gaze of Jiraiya. It had not yet been a full day since the Nine-Tails had attacked, though it was nighttime once more, and currently they stood together in the Hokage's office in the Hokage Mansion. Somehow it had miraculously come out of the Nine-Tails attack relatively unscathed, one of the very few things that could boast such a feat. The office was scarcely furnished; only a mahogany desk, a cushioned chair for the Hokage, and the odd bookcase decorated the room. The desk was set up at the end of the room so that it faced the double doors that led into the office. Behind the desk were seven bay windows all with a fantastic view of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. And its destruction. "Which is how he took control of the Nine-Tails."

"That's how Madara Uchiha did it right?" Jiraiya questioned, although he already knew the answer. Hiruzen nodded as his feet scuffled across the hardwood floor as he walked from the window to his desk. The old Hokage sighed and took off his hat, placing it on his desk. The hat that he now felt forced to don once more for his village. Jiraiya noticed that Hiruzen looked like he had aged a year in the past few hours. "Will you become Hokage again?" The Toad Sage asked as he held a the little bundle of blankets that was the new Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails. Jiraiya couldn't help but notice that he looked a hell of a lot like Minato already, but he had Kushina's bright, vibrant, violet eyes. Except for the three whisker marks that adorned each cheek. That was all Naruto.

"I am afraid that is what it will come to…" Sarutobi stroked his beard absentmindedly as he admitted this. "Of course nothing will be official until it is brought to the attention of the council. But I see no other course of action. Who would you hand the hat to at a time like this?" Jiraiya seemed to truly ponder the question for a moment, perusing a list of suitable characters for the part in his head. Of course, he quickly realized that there really wasn't anyone he would choose. Not even his teammate and used-to-be best friend, who had been worrying him with his behavior recently….

"I'm sorry that none of us are fit to be a successor to you." Jiraiya stated solemnly, referring to him and his teammates. Jiraiya knew he was not fit to be the Hokage. He did not have the monumental patience it required, nor did he have the conventional mindset for it. Jiraiya needed to be free...free to fawn over all of the big-breasted women he came across. Such behavior was certainly not becoming of a Hokage, or anyone in a position of real power for that matter.

There was Orochimaru who had already been passed over for the job once. After the war when Minato was named successor, Orochimaru had been vying for the position as well. His jealousy of the outcome was not unbeknownst to Jiraiya or Hiruzen, and as a result he had begun to distance himself, and even started acting suspiciously. There were rumors...vile rumors...rumors neither of them dare considered…

And lastly Tsunade, granddaughter of the First Hokage and student of the Third Hokage. She was a gifted Shinobi in all aspects of the word, though she was a genius in the Medical Ninjutsu field. She had even pioneered the idea of attaching a medic ninja to every 4-man cell in a time of war, something that had no doubt saved the lives of hundreds, maybe thousands of Leaf ninja. She would actually make a perfect Hokage in both of their minds. That is, if she hadn't left the village years ago, wanting nothing to do with it ever again.

"In a way I'm glad. At least I can spare the three of you any more hardship." Hiruzen answered, equally as solemn. "Minato was a hero. There will be no easy way to replace him." Hiruzen let out a deep sigh and leaned forward, placing his elbows on the table and bracing his head with his hands. "I truly fear what may unfold over the next few years Jiraiya. Our strength is only a fraction of what it was not a day ago. Not only does that invite aggression from our enemies beyond our borders, but it invites strife to coalesce from within. I fear that there could be a silent war for my seat; a war that goes on behind the scenes raised up from the darker factions of the Leaf Village. Minato was going to be the one to shine a light on that darkness as Hokage...but now…" Sarutobi sighed again, heavily this time, "...now I fear we've lost sight of our one true beacon of light." Hiruzen predicted, his voice wavering. However, this sparked a thought in Jiraiya's head, and he reached into his vest and pulled out a scroll.

"Well, our beacon left one last sign. I found this scroll of Minato's body after he perished."

"And you just remembered this now?" Hiruzen asked, his eyebrow raising in scrutiny.

"Give me a break, I've got a lot on my mind. Just read it. There's a lot of very...interesting...information inside, though I didn't get a chance to read the entire thing." Jiraiya stated quietly, unfurling the scroll and setting it on Hiruzen's desk. The Hokage reached out with his bony fingers, slid the paper in front of him and immediately began to read it aloud:

 _I only have so much time while Kushina draws up the Seal Key. I can only imagine the state that the village is in now; surely I have failed as Hokage. But no matter, to whoever is reading this, I assume Jiraiya or Hiruzen, or maybe even Kakashi, there is much I must still do as Hokage. I only hope this letter will be enough to set the gears in motion._

 _My son Naruto is to become the next Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails. Kushina and I agreed that it is the only thing we can do. We could not simply take someone else's child and force this fate upon them. And as an Uzumaki, not to mention a direct descendant of a previous Jinchuriki, plus indirectly of another, he could possibly be the best vessel in all of the Elemental Nations for the Nine-Tails. Whether it had been now or in 10 years, at some point the Fox would have had to be moved from Kushina into Naruto anyway. It's the only way this can work._

 _The seal I have developed with Kushina's help is quite complex. I must say, I'm actually pretty impressed with myself. I hope it doesn't cause you too much trouble Sensei._

Jiraiya snorted at this moment.

 _I plan on giving the Seal Key to the toads, so that the only person who could ever find it is you Sensei. If you have lost your life in this horrendous affair as well Sensei, then all hope may truly be lost. It is too complex for me to explain the entire thing here, and the key will have all of the details you need to figure it out. Do not hesitate to look at any of my old notes, or Kushina's old notes, or anything from the archives from Whirlpool Country, as they will have all of the answers you will need. Just know that only you Sensei, and eventually Naruto, will ever be able to open the seal._

This line gave them pause. Both Hiruzen and Jiraiya looked at each other, with surely the same question on their minds. Why would they ever even think about opening the damn seal?

 _Also over time the seal will change, so do not be alarmed when this happens._

 _Now, this is what is most important right now, in case Jiraiya has perished as well. For the release of the Nine-Tails was no accident. A man with the Sharingan was behind the release of the Kyuubi. He separated me from Kushina for just a moment, and he was able to bring it out of her. After putting the beast under a Genjutsu of some sorts he must have ordered it to attack the village. His motives were unclear, but I do not believe he is an Uchiha, and you should not let that cloud your judgement. Just watch out for guys who have one Sharingan eye. But not Kakashi, he didn't do it._

 _Lastly, I just want to say I'm sorry. I know Jiraiya is waiting for me right now, but I can't leave these things unsaid. I'm sorry Hiruzen for not living up to your expectations. It seems I was not meant to be Hokage after all. Or am I doing exactly as you would expect me to? I'm not really sure I can be the one to cast judgement in that way can I? I truly hope my sacrifice here does not lead to tragic events. I'm sorry Sensei for not outliving you. I know what it's like to lose one of your own. It never really gets easier. The only advice I can really offer you is reach out to those you do still have. Even if it is the crotchety old man with the pipe and the hat._

Hiruzen leveled Jiraiya with a scornful glare while the last loyal Sannin chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head.

 _Sometimes you can be crotchety too Sensei._

Now it was Hiruzen's turn to laugh.

 _Kakashi, Rin I'm sorry that I could not be there for you. I know this must be so hard for you two, but please don't lose hope. You still have each other, and you shouldn't forget that. Obito and I will be watching over you. Never forget that either._

 _And...Naruto my son. My son. I can't believe I'll never get to say those words to you. There are so many...so many things that I want to say but writing them on this piece of paper would do a disservice to them. I just want you to know that I love you. I love you more than anything. Your mother is now trying to grab the ink from me to write how much she loves you. We both love you. We love you so much. Don't ever forget that. As long as you live Naruto don't ever forget that whatever you do, we love you._

 _Now I must go...please...take care of Naruto for us. Kushina says she loves you all so much and wishes she could say more, but we REALLY have to go. She said to just mention Mikoto real quick because we don't have time. Kushina loves you Mikoto. And I love you all as well. Farewell._

 _Wait since I'm about to die do I need to pick a successor? If it had been ten years later I would have said Kakashi...and I know you won't even consider it Sensei...would it be okay if I said Hiruzen? Will that even work? Okay I really have to go, no time to dwell on it. These are some pretty unorganized last words huh?_

It was quiet for a few moments after Hiruzen finished it.

"I am proud of you Minato." Hiruzen whispered.

"Ever the poet too." Jiraiya said, half-sarcastically.

"He knew he was going to die?" Hiruzen asked, looking up at Jiraiya, his eyes full of melancholy. Jiraiya nodded.

"He did. Kushina must have known too, which is why she added that little detail to the seal - dammit how did I not pick up on that?" Jiraiya lamented, as a flash of grief fueled anger pulsed through him. "I guess I did know, and I just didn't want to admit it." He acknowledged, calming himself. "He named you his successor though. That makes one thing easier right?"

"I suppose. We will have to present this in the next council meeting." Hiruzen said as he slipped the scroll into his robe. Jiraiya nodded.

"So what do we do now?" The white-haired ninja asked.

"Well, if it _is_ suspected that the Uchiha are behind it, that will cause much distress within the village. The Uchiha separate themselves from the village more than any other clan as it is, due to the nature of their relationship with the founders of the Leaf Village and my predecessors. Something that Minato has rebuked me for on quite a few occasions." Hiruzen seemed to deflate a bit as he admitted this. His eyes drifted to his hands, staring at them as if they were to blame for his poor relations with the Uchiha. "He was right though, there was much I could have done to extend a hand of friendship to the Uchiha. But my Senju masters had instilled a sort of wariness, well Tobirama had at least. Hashirama was always fond of the Uchiha…" Realizing that he was getting off track, Hiruzen took a quick puff of his pipe and cleared his throat. "Maybe the aim of this attack was to tug upon the strings of my distrust? And further separate the Uchiha from the village? I can only guess really. But if Minato says so, he has a reason, I will choose to take his council." Hiruzen finally stated, feeling it would truly be the right choice. Funny how he, a man beyond the years of all but a few, was still taking advice from those not half his age. "All will be determined once the council meets, including what will happen with young Naruto."

"I'll raise him." Jiraiya answered immediately and resolutely. "I am his Godfather, aren't I? Considering I'm the only one who knows how to make sense out of Minato's seal, it only makes sense."

"Indeed it seems to be the best option for the boy. Are you up to the task?" Hiruzen inquired.

"Absolutely. This...this is the least I can do for Minato. And for Naruto." The Sannin stated with determination. "Someone has to be there for him."

"We shall both be there for him. But we best prepare ourselves. This road will be paved with difficulty. I shall arrange a council meeting, Best you sharpen your tongue." Hiruzen suggested, standing up and donning his hat once more.

"Sure. I'll polish my ass too."

XxX

' _Life is born. Life is taken. Life is a battle.'_

Once again the mantra repeated itself in Itachi's head. He was entangled with emotion; distraught over Shisui's death, and furious at the men who had done it. But he was also relieved that he was alive, which also made him feel a tiny bit guilty. If it hadn't been for him, Shisui would never have been killed.

"Itachi. Ready?" Itachi heard his father's call from down the hall, and he exited his room. He was now dressed in all black. An attire of mourning. His father's outfit was similar. Fugaku Uchiha was a stalwart man with a stalwart confidence about him. He had shoulder length brown hair and stern, pure black eyes.

"Yes father." Itachi answered sullenly. Itachi's mother, Mikoto, then rounded the corner, carrying Sasuke in her arms, and she too wore black; a long, elegant-but-simple dress that accentuated her beauty. Her long, silky black hair was tied up in a formal bun, and her raven-colored eyes were heavy with sadness. Kushina had been her best friend, and she was finding it hard to cope with the loss. Itachi felt his mother's pain, and went to hug her leg in comfort. A few tears escaped her eyes as she wrapped one of her arms around her son's head.

"It will all be okay Itachi. It will all be okay…" She whispered through her tears. Itachi wasn't sure if she was talking to him, or herself.

As the family made its way to the streets of the village, they were met by a sea of bodies, all dressed in black as well, heading in the direction of the cemetery. Silence pervaded the streets as the mourners all trudged along in a woeful manner. The weight of the day before hung over them like a cluster of storm clouds, waiting to burst and shower them with despair. Itachi looked all around as he moved along, noticing the faces of those he knew, all with the same, sorrowful expression. He recalled the conversation he had had with Shisui not long ago, about the cycle of death for life, and finding a way to end the cycle. He now more than ever wanted to find a way to end that cycle.

They eventually arrived at the cemetery grounds. The grounds were quite large, as they always needed space for new additions. Thick, stone walls surrounded a vibrant green field of grass, with a stone walkway that led up the center. On either side of the walkway were rows and rows of small, sleek, square headstones, and at the end of the walkway was a giant stone statue carved in the the same of a burning flame. A monument to the past Hokage. Today another name would be etched into the base of that statue.

The funeral goers lined up in rows facing the statue to pay their respects. There was no formal ceremony of any sort, too many had died. Instead they would mourn in silence and serenity, in the presence of their remaining loved ones and comrades. Itachi thought of Shisui and his mother's friend Kushina.

"Lord Fugaku...there are rumors swirling around." Itachi looked over as he saw one of his dad's associates in the clan whisper to Fugaku.

"Now is not the time to-" Fugaku started.

"I'm not sure if you've been to Naka Shrine yet, but one of our men found the flames of Amaterasu." This caused Fugaku's eyes to bulge wide open. "And they say they saw the Sharingan in the Kyuubi's eyes. People are blaming us!" The other man cut in, his ire rising, though he still kept his voice down. "We cannot-"

"Now is not the time. We will discuss the black flames later." Fugaku answered again, this time much more sternly than the last. The man simply nodded and ceased his discussion. Itachi however, perked up when he heard the word Amaterasu.

' _What were those black flames...?'_

Later on, after a few hours had passed, some people decided enough was enough, and it was time to go, while others stayed, or broke off to pay respects to specific graves, loved ones they had lost. Itachi found himself standing alone for a few moments as Fugaku followed Mikoto to Kushina's grave. As his gaze wandered around him, he spotted a man who was quite famous within the Leaf Village. He approached him.

"Grieving over the dead is meaningless." The man stated as Itachi walked up. He was a tall, slender man with chalk, white skin that had a scaly quality to it. His eyes gleaned shades of purple and green, and his pupils were vertically elliptical, like that of a snake's. In fact his whole demeanor was very snake-like, though it was quite fitting, seeing as he could summon Snakes in the same way that Jiraiya could summon Toads and Hiruzen could summon Monkeys. He had shiny, smooth black hair that went down past his shoulder blades, and he was dressed in the normal attire of a Leaf Village Jonin. "If there is any meaning in death, it's to take advantage of it." The man's voice was cold and had a quality of wretchedness to it.

"Take advantage?" Itachi asked, curiosity compelling him. Many people had mentioned how intelligent Orochimaru was, and Itachi hoped he could find some answers by speaking to him.

"Yes. They very art of the Shinobi relies on taking advantage of death, of using it as a tool. One must learn to harness it." He answered in a malicious way; it almost sounded like he was hissing. "One must understand death, one must become death, and only then can one conquer death."

"Conquer death?"

"Conquer death and find eternal life. Life only has meaning if it is eternal." The snake-like man concluded. He turned away then and began to walk away, not bothering to continue his conversation with Itachi. But he had given Itachi plenty to think about.

' _Can life be eternal?'_

The question had bounded around in Itachi's head for the rest of the day. He floated through the bereaved crowd of villagers in a bubble of isolated thoughts. Was death inescapable? Could he have somehow changed Shisui's fate? Was there any true meaning in the cycle of life and death? He thought long and hard as his legs slowly lost feeling and as if possessed by phantoms carried him all the way outside of the village to one of the many training grounds on the perimeter of the village. He found himself standing on the edge of a cliff, peering outward over the expansive view. Below him in the ravine was a shallow stream flowing with clear blue water. Past the stream was a verdant swathe of trees that stretched as far as the horizon, up into the sunset where the light reflected hues of pink and orange onto the pillowy clouds. Itachi took it all in and thought of Shisui once more, and as he did, his perception of the world changed, like it had on the night of Shisui's death. He quickly took off his headband and looked at his reflection in it, and staring back at him were two blood red Sharingan eyes.

"Sharingan…" He whispered to himself as a bitter feeling crawled up inside of his belly. This Sharingan, this revered ocular mutation that his clansmen felt made them superior to other clans, was a manifestation of his anguish. Had Shisui lived that night, he may never have unlocked the cursed ability. Tears begun to leak from Itachi's eyes as he tossed the headband over the edge of the cliff and collapsed to his knees. He felt as if he had been lied to his entire life. His father had always made the Sharingan out to be a wondrous power, but now he knew it was one of malevolence. Of violence. Of pain. He felt stupid.

As his tears begun to subside, he peered over the edge once more, now realizing how high up he was. He could see the faint glimmer of his headband all the way at the bottom of the drop. At that moment a lone crow flew up from under him and landed next to him on the cliff. They exchanged gazes before the crow CAWED and flew over the edge of the cliff, diving down into the ravine. Itachi didn't really know why, but he felt as if he should follow the crow, and so without a second thought he did. His legs propelled him forward over the edge and he felt his stomach drop as he too plummeted to the earth. At first he did nothing, simply staring at the twilight sky as his body slowly descended. But he was startled out of his trance by another CAW, from the same crow as it begun to fly in circles around him. Suddenly he snapped into focus, and reached into a hidden pouch on his thigh for a kunai and length of wire. He quickly tied the wire around the handle of the kunai and flung the bladed weapon at the cliff wall. He felt his momentum slow as the kunai took hold, but as he reached the full length of the wire his weight ripped it out of the solid rock surface. Again he tried the same tactic as the ground grew closer and closer, and this time he was able to pull himself closer to the wall. He pulled out a second kunai and with both hands he sunk them into the stone as hard as he could. Sparks flashed as the kunai scraped against the cliff wall at terminal velocity. Itachi tried again and again, ramming the kunai into the wall with all of his might, though he couldn't feel himself slowing down. Panic began to engulf him as he dug in harder and harder. One of his kunai snapped and he was only left with one. He grabbed his one remaining weapon and thrust it into the wall as hard as he could, his muscles searing with exhaustion. And slowly, but surely, he felt himself slowing down, just enough to maybe survive the landing. He looked down and as he saw the ground get close enough he pushed off of the wall with his legs and shot out towards the stream. He broke the surface of the water and felt himself crash into the shallow riverbed. He felt a couple of sharp rocks puncture his skin in a few places, where blood leaked out freely. But he fought to pull himself back to the surface, and gasped for breath as he succeeded. He slowly and painfully dragged himself out of the water and collapsed on the rocky riverbank, coughing up a bit of green tinted water as he lay there.

CAW

He looked up, coughing again as he did, and was face to face with the crow. They stared at each other for a few silent moments.

CAW

Itachi didn't know if the crow was waiting for him to respond, but he physically couldn't at this moment, so he simply reached out with his finger, and gently pet the crow on the head.

CACAW CACAW CACAW

Suddenly a swarm of crows descended upon Itachi, landing in a circle around his prone body. Itachi slowly pushed himself to his knees and looked around, not really sure what was going on. But he felt as if he had somehow bonded with these crows. As if he had shown them that he was willing to conquer his fears, and they would be willing to help him.

Suddenly a thought struck him. He still hadn't told the Hokage, or anyone for that matter, about the hooded men who had killed Shisui. Not even his mother and father. Not that he didn't trust them, but he felt these words needed to be heard by the Hokage first. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted his discarded Leaf headband.

He would not let Shisui's death be in vain.

XxX

The life of a shinobi could be utterly depressing, truth be told. They risked their lives day in and day out for their villages, without so much as a care for their own well-being. They were more familiar with death than most other beings. It was their tool, it was their cloak, and it was their inevitable end. All ninjas were destined to meet their untimely end on the battlefield; those who survived were few and far between, and revered for the feat, like the Third Hokage, and the Third Tsuchikage, who were two of the oldest active ninja alive. But those who survived also dwelled in the shadow cast by death, for their loved ones were never so lucky.

Kakashi Hatake was one such boy, who dwelled in that shadow, haunted by death. At a very young age, before he could even know her, he lost his mother to illness. Then, at the tender age of five, he found his father dead by his own hand. Sakumo Hatake had been a brilliant ninja, hailed as a genius by the Hidden Leaf. But on his final mission, he made a decision to abort the mission because of the danger his squad faced. It ended up saving their lives, but in turn, because they failed the mission, the enemy had been able to invade and capture one of their small cities. Hundreds of people had died, the blood all on Sakumo's hands. And the village made sure he knew it, crucifying him and casting him out. And it drove him over the edge.

And so without any parents left to guide him, Kakashi joined the ninja Academy at age five, to prove he was not 'scum' like his father. He graduated just one semester later, and gained a reputation to have potential as the greatest genius since the Third Hokage. A year later at age six he was promoted to Chuunin on the battlefield for assuming command of a mission that had been upgraded from C-Rank to A-Rank due to negligent preparation and not enough information from the client. His captain had been killed and the two Chuunin he was with had no qualms in following Kakashi's orders.

Kakashi continued to impress in this manner as he grew up, eventually being placed onto a team of his own after years of floating around as a Chuunin. Of course, he wasn't a Genin like they were, but they were deemed a special case. His teammates had been Obito Uchiha of the Uchiha Clan, and Rin Nohara, an orphan who had found her way into the Ninja Academy. At first Kakashi had been reluctant to work with them, even going as far as to say they were holding him back. Of course, his Sensei made sure that Kakashi's attitude changed.

By beating it the hell out of him.

Minato Namikaze was another one of those once in a generation geniuses. Funny how they gravitate toward each other isn't it? Minato was truly a genius among geniuses, which would be recognized when he would be chosen as the Fourth Hokage in the future. Kakashi had truly been lucky to have a man like him as a teacher. Minato was responsible for refining Kakashi's natural talent and teaching the boy how to work with it, a key element for sure. However, on the mental side of things, Minato could never really breakthrough to Kakashi. Some of his lessons stuck, but others either flew over the boy's head or were deemed unworthy by the child.

It wasn't until Obito was killed during the war, and Kakashi received his Sharingan and reputation that he really started to understand human connection. It was why he made an effort on days like these to spend time with Rin. She was the only person left in his life, and he was fearful of what that life would be like without her.

"You're not listening to me at all are you Kakashi?"

Not that he was very good at showing that.

"Sure I am. I'm just not hearing it." He replied smoothly, realizing after a moment that it was not as smooth as he thought it was. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "I'm sorry. That was stupid. I'm having trouble focusing on anything." He explained, his head and shoulders sagging. In front of him was the Memorial Stone, a sleek, shiny stone tablet that had been placed in the middle of one of the Hidden Leaf's training grounds. Why it had been placed in the training grounds, no one was quite sure. Many believed it was for inspirational purposes, so that the students who trained there could be inspired by the sacrifice of those who preceded them. But Kakashi had been staring at it a lot lately. Obito's name was one of the newest. Minato's name hadn't been added yet.

"I know. I am too." Rin answered, standing right beside him. She too had been frequenting the Memorial Stone, with and without Kakashi. A gentle breeze blew across them, rustling the leaves of the surrounding forest. The training ground was simply a fenced in area in the woods. The luscious, verdant fauna that was the trademark of the Leaf Village grew in droves all around them. They were standing in a small clearing adjacent to a clear, blue stream that ran through the forest. Three training posts had been erected in the middle of the field, to be used as training sighed and leaned over, letting her head rest on Kakashi's shoulder. He stiffened a bit at the sudden contact, and only after a few moments did he succumb to the soothing feeling of closeness. "I miss them."

"I see them both everyday. Obito's goggle-headed face, Sensei's pure blue eyes...their images go around and around in my head. All of my memories are swirling around like a carousel at the carnival. Like the back of my eyelids are a canvas for the tortured artist in my head." Kakashi stated, finding words he hadn't been searching for. "I'm sorry, that came out-"

"Look at you, following in my footsteps. You know, women love a man who's good with words." Rin and Kakashi whirled around to find the offending voice, and they spotted none other than Jiraiya perched in a tree not more than 15 yards away. In one hand he held a pen, and in the other he held a small white notepad, and on his face he wore a grin that could have eaten shit for days. "I've been looking for the two of you, but who knew it would be so entertaining, and so full of material." At this, Kakashi's eyes bulged. Being the student of Minato, Kakashi knew Jiraiya fairly well, and he knew all about Jiraiya's 'material'. He was a huge fan actually. A very huge fan. And the thought of being the subject of such a story would probably make something else huge, which Kakashi realized, was very narcissistic, but also very-

"How long have you been there?" Rin asked, thankfully interrupting Kakashi's train of thought. He wasn't sure he could handle that right now.

"Ten or fifteen minutes maybe? An hour? I don't know, I lost track when I pulled out my notebook." Jiraiya estimated as he shrugged unabashedly. Really he'd only been there for about five. "But nevermind that. I have something I want to share with you two." Jiraiya hopped out of the tree. As he approached the duo, he pulled out a familiar scroll. "This scroll contains Minato's last words." This caught their attention, and Kakashi immediately took the offered scroll when it was within reach. He unfurled it and pulled up his crooked headband, revealing his Sharingan eye. This was so that the image of the scroll would be burned into his memory forever. Being a couple inches taller than Kakashi, Rin was easily able to crane her neck over his shoulder and read the letter as well. Their eyes grew wider and wider as they read the letter and more information was revealed to them. As he finished, Kakashi looked over at Rin, who simply nodded, and he wrapped the scroll back up to give back to Jiraiya.

"Thank you." Rin said graciously. "But isn't this sensitive information?"

"Yeah...truth be told I shouldn't have shown you that, Hiruzen would kill me if he found out…" Jiraiya said through a chuckle, scratching the back of his head nervously. "And I know that it's not going to make you two feel any better, but you deserve to see it nonetheless."

"Can you tell us anything else?" Kakashi asked suddenly. "I don't mean to pry, but this just opens up a hundred more questions for me. Who would even have the knowledge about the Sharingan to use it to control the Nine-Tails?" Jiraiya simply shurgged and shook his head at the younger boy's confusion.

"There's not much else we know. There's a chance that Minato wasn't even able to give us all of the information he had. We're stuck in the dark right now kid." Jiraiya admitted, his tone exhibiting a bit of frustration. "But we're going to need all the help we can get figuring this out. Can I count on you two?"

"Of course." Rin replied, turning to look at Kakashi, who simply nodded in agreement. "We'll help in any way we can." Jiraiya nodded at this and seemed to ponder something to himself for a moment. After a few moments he cleared his throat.

"Have either of you ever thought about joining ANBU?"

XxX

"Listen kid, the Hokage is very busy. He doesn't have time to play games with you."

Itachi was getting frustrated, though he wasn't going to give this guard the satisfaction of knowing it. But he hated being treated like a dumb kid, mostly because he was anything but.

"Look sir, I know you may not believe me, but I have information-"

"You're right, I don't believe you. Now beat it." The guard commanded. Itachi simply turned on his heel and then walked away. He walked across the cobblestone street and rounded a corner, and as soon as he did he jumped up into the air, bounded off of the side of a building and ascended to the rooftops. As he landed on the red-shingled roof, one of the crows he had formed a sort of pact with landed next to him. He cupped his hands around his mouth and perfectly imitated the caw of a crow, though it didn't work exactly as he planned it. Instead of a swarm of crows flying down around the guards and distracting them, the crow to his right simply jumped up and pecked him on the head.

"Ow!" He turned and glared at the crow, who seemed to glare right back at him, as if Itachi had just insulted the bird's mother or something. "Not me, them!" He whispered, and without a second thought the crow flew away with a caw. After a few seconds the swarm of crows Itachi had hoped for descended upon the guards and began to wreak havoc upon them, sending them running for the hills. Itachi quickly exploited his window of opportunity and dashed into the Hokage Mansion. The mansion was elegantly simple on the inside. Deep scarlet carpets with gold trim covered every inch of the floor, and a matching burgundy paint adorned the walls. Various pictures of past Hokage and other famous Leaf ninja watched Itachi as he snuck his way through the building. He finally came upon two great mahogany doors with a depiction of a flame carved into each one, and knocked twice.

"You may enter." Itachi obeyed the muffled voice of the Third Hokage and quickly entered the room, shutting the door behind him. The Third was clearly surprised to see the young Itachi. "You're Fugaku Uchiha's son correct?" Itachi bowed politely and nodded.

"Yes Lord Hokage. My name is Itachi." The young Uchiha introduced himself. "I wished to speak with you about a private matter." The Hokage put down the stack of papers he was holding and nodded at the young boy.

"Very well. Please speak your mind." Hiruzen encouraged.

"It's about the Nine-Tails attack. I believe there was someone behind it." Itachi stated, causing Hiruzen's eyes to widen.

"I see...what makes you say that?"

"The night of the attack, I had been trying to escape the Uchiha District with my clanmate Shisui Uchiha, and we came across some trespassers. I noticed them trying to break into Naka Shrine. But before we could do anything, they attacked us, and killed Shisui. I was only able to escape because a wall of black flames appeared out of thin air." Itachi explained, earning a very, very curious look from Hiruzen.

"So the rumors of Amaterasu are true then." Hiruzen stated. And there was that word again.

"What is Amaterasu Lord Hokage?" Itachi asked, his curiosity tugging on his brain.

"Amaterasu is an ancient ability of the Uchiha Clan, known to be wielded by none other than Uchiha Madara himself. The black flames are said to burn for seven days and seven nights, and no amount of water can extinguish them." Hiruzen explained. "Were you the one who conjured these flames?"

"I...don't know. I activated my Sharingan, but I never knew it had abilities like that." Itachi answered hesitantly.

"I see...and you say there was more than one trespasser?"

"I counted three." Itachi replied. HIruzen picked up his pipe and took a few puffs, mulling over this new information in his head. "I could not identify them. They wore black cloaks." Itachi added as an afterthought. Hiruzen nodded.

"I see...thank you for bringing this information to me Itachi. Have you told anyone else?" Itachi shook his head at the Hokage's question. "Good. Let's keep it that way for now."

"What if someone asks me about Shisui?" Itachi queried, his tone tinged with melancholy. Hiruzen sighed.

"It's not an easy thing is it? To lose a friend." Hiruzen stood up and walked around his desk. He approached Itachi and knelt down in front of him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You tell them what you think is best. I won't ask you to lie to your family. And I won't ask you to forget Shisui." Hiruzen smiled, and Itachi nodded astutely.

"Thank you Lord Hokage." WIth that, Itachi bowed one final time and exited the office. As he left, Hiruzen sighed heavily and hung his head. He hated to see another young life affected by this tragedy so deeply. But he also saw a lot of potential from that boy, even in that small interaction.

"So young to carry such a burden."

XxX

The fog was thick as four cloaked figures silently skulked through the night. Their footfalls were silent as they crept through the cloak of the shadows. A silent wind blew across the beach as they settled along the shoreline, the vast ocean curling in and out in front of them. Wave after wave lapped against the sand and slowly retreated back into the expanse of the sea.

"You can't be serious. How are we supposed to run across the ocean?" One of the voices questioned ludicrously. "I don't have the amount of chakra necessary for that."

"You must find it then, lest you lose yourself to the sea." Another one of the voices replied.

"What are we even doing here? Are you planning some kind of attack on Hidden Mist now?" The first voice impatiently questioned again.

"Don't ask questions you know you won't get answers to Obito. Our plans are of no importance to you. You are simply a pawn." The second voice replied monotonously. The source of the second voice turned to one of the other cloaked figures. "You have the sealing scroll yes?"

"Of course." A third voice replied.

"Excellent." The second voice praised. "We take an hour long rest, and then we set out. It should take us about four hours to reach the Land of Whirlpools."

"Land of Whirlpools?" Obito interrupted. "Why go there? It's been abandoned for years." The second voice turned back to Obito and held his hand up in a chakra manipulating sign.

"I tire of your questions. Sleep." And so Obito did, collapsing on the spot at the voice's command. The tide began to come in, slowly washing up to Obito and soaking his robes, though he didn't feel a thing. The second voice turned away and looked out over the dark horizon. "Homecoming is a bittersweet thing is it not?"

"I wouldn't know, haven't been home in years." The third voice replied. The second voice only nodded.

"I'll know soon enough."

XxX

 **A/N: Hey look at that all done. It's gonna be slow for a little bit, unfortunately. I'm trying to add in as much stuff as I can, but it feels like I'm wading through a lot of setup. It will eventually pay off when I get to the good parts. Beginnings are tough.**

 **Anyway thanks for reading.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: Cloak of Shadows

"Itachi. I'd like to speak to you." Itachi looked up from his book as he heard his father's voice. It was a book he rather enjoyed so far, called _The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi,_ by a man named I. C. Hyujkanz, which Itachi had to figure was a pseudonym of some kind.

"What is it father?" The young boy asked, earmarking the page and shutting the book. Fugaku made a slight beckoning motion with his head and walked out of the room. A look of confusion etched itself on Itachi's face, but nonetheless he followed his father's gesture. As he walked out into the hall, he saw his father standing in the open doorway of their front door. Once again Fugaku beckoned him and Itachi caught up to him. They began to make their way across their lawn and into the street of the Uchiha District. "Where are we going?" Itachi asked as their feet rhythmically padded against the dirt road.

"I spoke to the Hokage at the meeting of the Council." Fugaku stated, ignoring his son's question. "He made me aware of some very interesting things." Fugaku seemed to be examining Itachi as he said this, looking at him as if there was more to him than he knew. Itachi had a feeling he knew where this was going.

"Is this about the Nine-Tails attack?" The Uchiha son asked, earning a nod of affirmation from his father.

"It is. I am...sorry about Shisui." Fugaku stated heavily, almost hesitantly, as if he didn't quite have the right words. He sighed breathily. "He brought much pride to the clan, and he will not be forgotten." Itachi simply nodded in response. "His cause of death has been an ongoing investigation in the police department, though it seems like you have the answers we're searching for."

"I do." Itachi responded softly, his eyes wandering to his feet. A phantom image of Shisui's dead body flashed across his vision as he remembered. "He was murdered by intruders to the village."

"The Hokage told me as much. We've also been investigating the appearance of the black flames...what do you know about those?" Fugaku questioned as they turned off on another street. Itachi realized they were heading in the direction of Naka Shrine. Itachi shook his head.

"They just suddenly appeared. I don't know how or where they came from." Itachi answered.

"I see...the only Uchiha in history to have the power of the black flames was-"

"Madara Uchiha right?" Itachi interrupted, finishing Fugaku's sentence. The Uchiha father nodded. "The Third Hokage told me that. What does it mean?"

"It could mean many things. We don't have all the answers yet. But the Hokage told me you activated your Sharingan as well. Is that true?" Fugaku asked, earning a nod from Itachi. "Can you show me?" Itachi seemed surprised by the question, but he slowly nodded and closed his eyes as they walked. He thought of the night Shisui was killed, and the emotions that he felt surged through him once more. When he opened his eyes his perception had changed again, and he knew that his Sharingan had been activated. His father seemed shocked.

"Fully developed already…" He whispered to himself in awe. "Do you think you could take it a step further?" Fugaku asked, drawing a confused look from Itachi.

"What do you mean?" The young boy asked, though Fugaku did not answer. Instead he led Itachi the rest of the way in silence. They reached Naka Shrine relatively quickly, and Fugaku brought Itachi inside. Itachi had been to the shrine a few times, and it looked the same as he always remembered it. Fugaku walked over to a specific tatami mat and pulled it aside, revealing a staircase, something that astonished Itachi. Fugaku simply motioned toward the staircase and Itachi descended the stone stairs. He heard his father's footsteps behind him as he followed the little tendrils of light that stretched to the sub-level. As he touched down on the floor, his father walked over to the wall and grabbed a large, thick piece of carved wood off of a holster, and lit it with a weak Fire Style technique. An orange glow fluttered through the room and guided the father and son to the back of the basement. Itachi and Fugaku approached the end of the room, and came upon a stone tablet with ancient-looking runes on it.

"I will show you what I mean." Fugaku finally spoke, breaking his bout of silence. He closed his eyes for a few moments, and after a few moments reopened them, revealing his own Sharingan. But it was not normal like Itachi's Sharingan. This one was a much more complex design. Around his pupil was a thin ring with three scythe-shaped appendages breaking off at triangular points, like slash marks. And more to the left than the right of each slash mark lie a small, pupil sized dot. Itachi could see through his own Sharingan that they were innately powerful, as they gave off a radiance of chakra.

"Why is your Sharingan so intricate?" Itachi asked, his voice slightly wonderstruck.

"This is the Mangekyo Sharingan. The best way to describe it is that it is the evolved form of the Sharingan. It's powers are much greater than the regular Sharingan. The only Uchiha known in history to wield this power were Madara and Izuna Uchiha" Fugaku explained, causing the wonder on Itachi's face to grow threefold. He had read about Izuna and Madara Uchiha in his clan history books. The stories depicted Madara as the most powerful being alive. As a god.

"Does that mean I have this power?" He asked, recalling what the Hokage had told him. "Were those the black flames of Amaterasu?" Fugaku chuckled and shook his head at the ground.

"It never ceases to amaze me how intelligent you are Itachi. I have no idea if it's possible for a five-year old to activate such a magnificent power, but if it would be anyone, it would be you Itachi." Fugaku praised, a rare occurrence indeed. Itachi's eyes widened with fulfillment as he took in his father's compliment. "I believe that you somehow activated the Mangekyo Sharingan when Shisui was killed. In times of great stress and anguish is when the Sharingan seems to manifest itself-"

"I wanted to protect Sasuke." Itachi suddenly interjected, looking his father in the eye. "I had to protect Sasuke. I'd never forgive myself if anything happened to him."

"Interesting how our bodies find ways to stay alive. Evolution in the moment. Quite an amazing thing our eyes can do Itachi." Fugaku mused, motioning to the stone tablet. "Take this tablet for instance. Look at it with your Sharingan." Itachi obeyed his father's command and focused on the tablet. It seemed to be a message of some kind, but he couldn't understand all of it. Somehow, his Sharingan deciphered a few parts for him. Something about Tailed Beasts and trees. "Try to activate your Mangekyo Sharingan Itachi. See what happens." Fugaku suddenly urged, but Itachi obeyed immediately. He was infinitely curious. He shut his eyes and focused, trying to remember the feeling he felt was he knew Sasuke was in danger. The pure motivation of dying for his little brother. He opened his eyes, and nothing looked or seemed different. He didn't feel any different either. "It seems you do not have the ability to manifest them willingly, though I still believe you were the one who conjured those black flames." Fugaku stated, smiling softly at his son. "I will fill in the holes for you:

 _The Tailed Beasts have become restless. They roam free and wreak havoc upon the land at their own will. Once such gentle creatures, they are now lost to the Ten-Tails lingering (blank). And the Tree of (blank) grows (blank) with every passing moment. It's branches have sunk deep into the earth, intertwining with its roots, almost as if it is pulling itself down._

 _I fear that if the Tree of (blank) is pushed to its breaking point, the Ten-Tails will be (blank) again. Somehow, it will (blank) itself and take what it (blank). And if the Ten-Tails is (blank), then the (blank) end._

 _I have continued my research, and I may have found a way to keep this (blank). Above our world lies a vast expanse of space. What exactly lies in it I can only guess; other worlds or other life-forms perhaps. But I have discovered one thing. A sort of gravitational field that swallows all that is caught in its grasp, and nothing can escape. If one with the (blank) were to use the_ _ **Catastroph- '**_ and then it cuts off here' _(blank) and bind the beasts together, then shoot them into this gluttonous vortex, they would have no way out. And they would stay there for the rest of eternity, where they belong. But in order to find this gravitational field, one must find where (blank) points to the sky."_

Itachi was riveted by this information. He didn't know who wrote it or what it meant, but he understood it was a concept much bigger than him. Than his clan or his village.

"Who wrote this?" Itachi queried.

"This tablet has been passed down through the Uchiha for centuries. It was said to be written by the Sage of the Six Paths himself." Fugaku explained. The name only slightly tickled Itachi's memory. He remembered a fairytale he had read once that may have had a similarly named character. "The Uchiha are said to be descendants of him. Our Sharingan is only a fraction of what his power was."

"Something seems off." Itachi suddenly blurted out. His father looked at him skeptically.

"What do you mean?" He asked. Itachi thought to himself for a moment.

"The third paragraph...it seems like it was written by a different person than the first two." He explained, looking at the ground intensely. "The way he refers to the tailed-beasts...in the first paragraph he mentions how they were 'once such gentle creatures'. But in the third, he says that 'they would stay there for the rest of eternity, where they belong' as if he despises the creatures. It doesn't make sense." Fugaku was enraptured with his son as the young boy spoke. Everything Itachi was saying made perfect sense, though he had never even thought to take it for more than it was.

"I think you're on to something. Leave it to a child." Fugaku said as he admired his son.

"Another thing…" Itachi went on. "You asked me if I could 'take it a step further before...You have the Mangekyo Sharingan, but you cannot read the entire message either. Does that mean there is a step beyond the Mangekyo Sharingan?"

"That is something I've thought about for many years my son. But I have not been able to come up with an answer." Fugaku reached down and tousled his hair. "But you've found new questions, which is just as important. I've never shown this tablet to anyone outside of the Uchiha Clan, but your idea has given me a desire to consult someone else. Let us leave Itachi. I have much to think about now." Itachi nodded at his father and headed to the exitway. He felt proud of himself.

XxX

"947...948...949...950...951...952….953…...954…"

Kakashi collapsed as his fist thunked weakly against the wooden post in front of him. He slowly tipped forward and crashed headfirst into the post, sending chills down his spine as he collapsed to the ground.

"Oh boy…"

Normally he wasn't one for such rigorous and ridiculous training methods. But ANBU was a tough gig. Jiraiya had said something like the average job-life of an ANBU was four months. He certainly wasn't going to let himself die in four months.

"Not good."

Though right now he was concerned with pulling himself out of this concussed state and getting some water. The world swam around his vision as his head and hand throbbed in agony. He rubbed his hands all along both sides of his flak vest as he searched for his water canteen. He found it and fumbled to pull it out of the pocket while he used his other arm to slowly prop himself up, though it was a wobbly endeavor. He steadied himself as he eagerly brought the canteen to his lips and inhaled its contents. After a few seconds of gulping he tossed the canteen aside and took a deep breath. He stopped trembling after a few moments and slowly his pain ebbed away. He looked up at the treeline and the floating clouds. And then he noticed someone.

"Please tell me you didn't see that Lord Hokage." Kakashi was let down by the hoarse chuckle that rolled off of the Hokage's lips, and he hung his head in response.

"These eyes still work well enough." The Hokage responded as he descended from his post in the tree and approached Kakashi. "I've seen many a young man ragdoll himself like that during training, and I can tell you it never helps."

"No I'm fine. I'm just training my head." Kakashi replied sarcastically. "Really it's going great. I was on 954, didn't you hear me?"

"Son, if you're telling me you smashed your head against that post 954 times I'm going to have to put you on active leave."

"Okay so I was just doing that thing they do in the movies. I was really on twelve." Kakashi responded playfully. The Hokage chuckled once more and shook his head.

"I've known your friend to subject himself to such torments, but you've always been more level headed. Why suddenly change your methods now?" The Third Hokage rasped curiously.

"Were you ever an ANBU?" Kakashi inquired. Hiruzen shook his head.

"No, I was very young when I was given the position of Hokage. It happened during the war." The old Hokage started to explain. "ANBU was much smaller back then. There were only a handful of squads, and they were truly the dedicated soldiers of the Hokage. They stood by 24 hours a day, every day, awaiting to be beckoned by my predecessors. And they served with their lives." A look of remembrance came over his face as he mentioned his predecessors.

"How did it change?" Kakashi was genuinely curious by now. The harshness of the job was not lost on him.

"When I took over, the council seemed to double in size. More and more factions from within the Leaf wanted real recognition. My predecessors had been private. But I was no Senju. They saw it as an opportunity to create a voice for themselves. And I acquiesced. And I felt my teachers roll in their graves that day." Hiruzen pulled a pipe out of his pocket as he wove his tale. Puffs of smoke began to rhythmically ascend into the air as he continued to enlighten Kakashi. "One of the many things that were a result of this decision was a new secret organization that could work behind the scenes, based on the old ANBU and Hidden Mist's division of Hunter Ninja."

"You're saying it like it's a bad thing...isn't that exactly what you needed?" Kakashi asked.

"In a way it was...the ANBU are some of the most exemplary shinobi across the nation. However, they no longer answered to me. It added another cog, another rank. It gave room for more deception and outside influence. And there are some out there who are willing to exploit it." The Hokage answered, his voice colored with disapproval. Kakashi seemed baffled.

"Why are you telling me this?" His eyes widened as the words left his mouth. "I don't mean to be rude!" He stuttered, realizing himself. "Now I'm just getting mixed signals. Should I not be joining ANBU?" He quickly asked apologetically.

"Just something to think about. If you think about it enough, we may have another similar conversation in the future." Hiruzen stated with finality. He turned around with that and slowly retreated back into the woods. Kakashi was left staring at his back.

"I think I need to read more."

XxX

"And you don't know anything?"

"My my, you think this was my doing. I know what I do is incriminating, but what would I gain from destroying the village?" Deep under the outskirts of the Leaf Village, via a plethora of tunnels was a sort of laboratory. It hadn't been built for that purpose, not exactly, and no one had intended for it to be used for the experiments that were currently under way. The conductor of which being Orochimaru, the other loyal remaining student of the Third Hokage, though the term loyal must be applied loosely.

"I don't know why you do the things that you do Orochimaru. I assume it has something to do with your tragic past, but I don't know much about that either." Danzo insulted angrily. Danzo was a mysterious man, one who wasn't known to most of the citizen and ninja population. His official title, if anyone ever asked, was Councillor to the Hokage, though he played a much more important role in the grand scheme of things. He liked to think of himself as the eye on the back of Hiruzen's head. The third eye, that saw the truth.

"Watch it Danzo." Orochimaru hissed.

"Don't speak to me like I'm a fool. I'm the reason that all of this even exists. You can thank me when you achieve immortality. Until then you take orders from me." Danzo ordered imperatively. "And I have some for you right now, though I think you'll find them most intriguing." Danzo reached into his white cloak and pulled out a small sealing scroll and held it out to Orochimaru. "It's a DNA sample." At this Orochimaru's eyes lit up.

"You want me to reanimate-" Orochimaru started to talk with a hint of excitement in his voice when he was cut off by the wave of Danzo's hand.

"No. That could end up being disastrous. I want you to cultivate it, so that we may use it for breeding purposes." Orochimaru's excitement ebbed away at Danzo's admission, but he was still interested.

"A cloning experiment then? Should yield some intriguing results. Who is the DNA sample?" Orochimaru asked. Danzo simply grinned knowingly and exited the dark room. Orochimaru simply pocketed the scroll and went back to his experiment.

"Breeding purposes...we're all just a union of cells aren't we?" Orochimaru asked the cadaver on the table in front of him, which he was currently examining the brain of. The top of the once-living man's cranium had been cut clean off, leaving only the fleshy, rounded mass of pink that was his dead brain. "Did you have any kids?"

XxX

A thick fog blanketed the atmosphere around the island that was the Land of Water. Waves rhythmically lapped up against the sandy shoal as the shimmering water sparkled in the daylight. Farther up from the shoal was a large, cement wall that separated the Hidden Mist Village from the outside world. And standing on the shoal looking up at the wall were four cloaked figures, dwarfed by the height of the construct.

"Do you see any sentries?" One of the figures asked quietly.

"A couple. They shouldn't pose any problems." Another of the figures answered confidently. "Our contact is waiting on the inside, at a tavern called The Shrouded Whisper." He explained, turning to another of the cloaked figures. "Are you listening Obito? You will be the one to meet him."

"I get it, I'm your chess piece." Obito answered, his tone rising out of frustration.

"It does not matter. I will be taking control of you for the duration of your infiltration. Let's find a place to conceal ourselves." The second voice ordered. The group walked off to the side of the beach and found a scattered formation of large boulders, easily big enough to hide them from sight. The leader took a seat on the ground in a meditative position and began to concentrate. Suddenly Obito removed his hood and unzipped his cloak, tossing it aside into the sand, revealing a pale blue kimono underneath. He looked like a normal boy. Except for his eyes, which had donned a sort of ripple effect. He suddenly vanished, and the other two remaining figures took a seat and began to meditate as well.

XxX

Obito found himself a spectator in his own body. He still had the ability to think, and if fact it seemed he was more focused than ever, but he had no control over his physical self. He felt like a ghost.

' _This is freaky.'_ He thought to himself, which was an odd sensation, as he felt himself vibrate with every syllable, as if he _was_ the voice that had spoken. He watched as his feet moved below him, carrying him through the misty hidden village. No one paid him any mind as he wandered through the streets as if his feet knew them by heart. He wanted to scream out to all the villagers, warn them of the dangerous man controlling him. But he had no power. His will had been completely crushed and wiped out like an insect. _'This is pathetic...I'm a puppet and I can see the strings.'_

He continued to wallow in his pity as the dangerous man used his body as an avatar. His vision wandered as he noticed the fluttering pedestrians mosey on by, happily chatting or humming to themselves. It reminded him of his home. But the nostalgia was fleeting as he watched himself enter a small tavern, with the same name as his captor had mentioned. His feet padded slowly across the old, creaky wooden floors to a booth in the back of the room. He took a seat and casually laid his forearms on the table. A waitress walked over.

"Drink?" She asked neutrally, not bothering to look him over.

"Tea." He responded quietly, in a voice different from Obito's own, a much deeper and confident voice. The waitress nodded and walked away. A few minutes passed in silence and eventually the waitress brought the tea over. As she left a young man approached the table. He was thin and muscular and had a cocky look to him. He had about-shoulder-length white hair and ocean blue eyes, and a set of pointed, shark-like teeth. He wore a light blue shirt with cut-off sleeves, and he had an empty sword holster strapped around his chest on his back. He took a seat opposite Obito.

"I see you made it unharmed." He greeted stoically.

"I followed your instructions exactly." Obito's captor responded. "Should I have had anything to fear Mangetsu?"

"I didn't know you felt fear." Mangetsu replied mock-disbelievingly. "Or do you, since you sent your lackey again." His tone turned accusatory.

"You're very intelligent Mangetsu. Which is why I sought you out. I trust you haven't disappointed my expectations?" Obito's captor responded assuredly.

"Everything has been taken care of. Yagura is preparing to respond to the forged missive from the Leaf Village." Mangetsu stated obligingly, leaning in closer as the level of his voice dropped. "I, Zabuza and Kisame are to accompany him."

At this, Obito begun to worry. If his captor was planning on targeting Yagura in this way, then the Leaf would be blamed for it.

' _God dammit…'_

"What of Kisame?" The captor asked, his voice falling low as well.

"His loyalty is assured." Mangetsu answered. "We leave in the early morning, and will be taking the west road to the port."

"Very well. Prepare yourself." The captor suggested, finishing his tea and placing the empty cup on the table. He stood then and without another word left Mangetsu's presence and the tavern. Obito could only sink into himself as his own vessel played another part in aggression against the Leaf.

' _I'm sorry Sensei…'_

XxX

 _And the god watched in horror as his world crumbled apart. Foundations of the great structures his creations had constructed rusted away into nothing as they came crashing down. Fallen idols of a foolish idealism. Blood seeped out of a million wounds across the planet and stained the land red. His giant hand came crashing down on the planet like a meteor, silencing the planet with a deafening boom. But this time, unlike the few other times he had intervened in the past, they paid him no mind. Instead they turned their own weapons upon him and begun to invade his body. One by one they climbed the mountain-sized arms and lusted for the blood of their creator. They felt like a swarm of ants crawling along his body as he was devoured by his own beings of creation. His body slowly-_

"This is terrible. Who the hell would want to write fiction?" Jiraiya exclaimed exasperatedly as he crumpled up a piece of paper and tossed it across the room in the direction he believed the trash can to be. He wasn't sure though. "I should just stick to smut." He sighed. "I need a drink." He pushed himself out of his chair and pulled his vest on all in one motion. Within seconds he was out the door and into the street. His feet knew the path by heart and they carried him there with ease. It was a little place called The Lillyspicket, right around the corner from his abode. He liked the name.

He walked through the door and up to the old wooden bar. It wasn't too crowded; it never was. A few patrons across the bar, and one or two of the ten or so tables were occupied. The low, gentle plucked notes of a shamisen floated through the room in rhythmic, soothing waves. Jiraiya's head turned to the area where the noise was coming from and saw a beautiful girl caressing the instrument as though it were an extension of herself. Her blood red lips shifted almost imperceptibly with every note she played, her dark blue eyes never breaking sight of her fingers. A smile crossed Jiraiya's face.

"The world is full of inspiration for me." He stated cheekily as he sat down, knocking on the bar to get the bartender's attention. "Evening Girado." The bartender, Girado, walked over and leaned on the bar in front of Jiraiya.

"Good to see you Jiraiya, as always." Girado replied amicably. "Where's Little Naruto?"

"Got Minato's students to take care of him. It was their idea, not mine. I think it was more the girl's idea." Jiraiya explained. "I trust those two. That kid Kakashi is no slouch."

"Indeed, even we civilians know his name, and at such a young age. They say that he will be the next Hokage when Hiruzen steps down." Girado gossiped, grabbing a glass in the meantime. "What do you want?"

"Gimme a Sohchoolong." Girado nodded as he began to make the drink. "And don't believe everything you hear. He may be skilled, but he has a lot of learning to do before that could be considered." Jiraiya replied honestly. Girado chuckled in response.

"Your honest opinions are always so enlightening." They both chuckled again. "I appreciate your business Jiraiya, I really do." As he said this he leaned forward slightly and put the drink down in front of Jiraiya. As he did, a small piece of folded up paper fell out of his sleeve next to the drink. Jiraiya noticed, but paid it no mind and smiled at Girado.

"Likewise my friend." Jiraiya replied. Girado simply nodded and walked away at that point. Jiraiya's smile dropped as he picked up his drink and took a sip. His eyes wandered to the piece of paper. "What could be so important…" He muttered under his breath as he stealthily pinned the piece of paper against the table with his pinky finger as he put his drink back down, and slid it back to him, sliding it off the edge of the table and catching it with his other hand. He quickly unfolded it and his eyes slid down and read the paper.

 _2nd table from the wall with the book poster._

Jiraiya looked around and spotted the book poster, which was an advertisement for his latest book, called _Icha Icha: Paradise_. He frowned slightly as he counted two tables in and spotted a middle-aged man with short black hair, a black goatee and a neutral expression on his face. It took a moment, but Jiraiya recognized him. He casually got up from his seat and walked over to the table, taking the unoccupied seat.

"Yosuke?" Jiraiya asked quietly. The man looked up and smiled.

"I was afraid you would not recognize me." Yosuke answered in relief.

"Well shit it's been almost...four years?"

"Six years."

"Shit." Jiraiya cursed with embarrassment, scratching the back of his head. "Good to see you."

"I see you've released a book." Yosuke pointed out, pointing his finger at the poster. Jiraiya chuckled.

"Yeah it's a big hit. Can't say I expected that after my first book flopped." Jiraiya answered humorously. "I've been trying to break into fiction recently but…"

"Not going too well?" Yosuke offered.

"You could say that. I try to think about dragons and the only thing that pops into my mind is tits." They shared a laugh at this. "It really is good to see an old friend."

"I wish I could say the same, but you know I wouldn't be here if it weren't the opposite." Yosuke replied seriously. "I have an urgent report." Jiraiya looked around as he was told this, wondering if there was anyone in the bar that shouldn't be. He didn't see anything threatening, but he could never be too sure. Under the table he slid a complex seal tag out of his pocket, and slapped it on the underside of the table. It was a sound dampening seal; not a perfect solution but certainly useful.

"First thing's first. What do you know of the Nine-Tails attack?" Jiraiya asked, catching Yosuke off guard.

"Just what everyone else knows. The Hokage is dead and there's a new Jinchuriki. Though it doesn't seem like anyone knows who the Jinchuriki is…" Yosuke informed quietly. Jiraiya nodded.

"I see...what's your piece?" The Toad sage questioned urgently.

"As you know I've integrated myself into the Hidden Mist quite nicely. Coming upon this information was a stroke of luck. The Mizukage received a missive from the Hidden Leaf recently, which seemed odd. But then I happened to be in a bar and I saw Mangetsu Hozuki meet with a suspicious character. He almost looked like an Uchiha." Yosuke explained anxiously. "There are many rumors flying around about Mangetsu's loyalty, or lackthereof."

"Sounds like you're trying to save Yagura's skin." Jiraiya observed suspiciously. "Why should you care? Just pick the winning side."

"Yagura is a good leader. And he trusts me. Any kind of change to the regime could oust me." Yosuke defended, and Jiraiya conceded to his logic.

"Good point. But I can tell you that we didn't send any kind of missive to the Mist. What did it say?" Jiraiya inquired.

"I don't know, but I know the Mizukage was supposed to leave tonight to meet with the Hidden Leaf emissaries." Yosuke admitted, causing Jiraiya's eyes to widen in realization.

"Where?" Jiraiya urged."

"I don't know. A neutral location I assume." Yosuke guessed. Jiraiya gritted his teeth.

"They're going to set an ambush." He uttered worriedly. "And we'll be blamed for it."

"They?" Yosuke questioned, but Jiraiya waved him off.

"Doesn't matter. You did good work to bring this information to me. Very good work." Jiraiya praised as he stood up with intention. "You should leave. I have to take care of this." Yosuke nodded and Jiraiya left him with that. He had to act fast.

XxX

"Grab your things kid. We have a mission." Kakashi was spooked by Jiraiya's command. The young Hatake had not heard the man enter Rin's apartment.

"A mission? What are you talking about? And where did you come from?" Kakashi asked as Jiraiya shook his head.

"No time. You and I have to go now. I can explain on the way." As Jiraiya said this, Rin walked back into the room with the baby Naruto in her arms.

"Jiraiya? What are you doing here?" She asked as she rocked Naruto back and forth. He was sound asleep.

"I need to borrow Kakashi. You are to report to the Hokage Tower immediately with Naruto. The Hokage will be waiting for you. He can explain things."

"What is-" Rin started to ask, but Jiraiya shook his head.

"We really have no time. Kakashi, now." Jiraiya ordered semi-forcefully. Kakashi just blinked and stood up.

"Lead the way." Jiraiya nodded and hastily walked out the door. Kakashi gave Rin an apologetic look before following the Toad Sage. Rin just sighed and began to gather her things together.

XxX

"I'm not sticking my foot in that toad's mouth."

"Kid, trust me, it won't turn out how you think it will."

"With the toad's brains smashed against the bottom of my foot?" At this, the toad's eyes widened, but Jiraiya eased his amphibian friend's anxiety with the wave of his hand. "Because that's how this plays out in my head nine times out of ten."

"What's number ten - nevermind. It's a complex teleportation technique. Just trust me." Jiraiya urged, causing Kakashi to sigh. He did as he was told, and slowly attempted to stick his foot into the toad's mouth. In a brief moment the toad's mouth expanded to the size of a doorway, and he was able to step in safely. His foot landed on something soft, wet and...squishy. He cringed as he took his first few steps. It smelled like a swamp.

"Please tell me this isn't real."

"It's not so bad. Imagine if I were Orochimaru." Jiraiya suggested, causing a shiver to shoot up Kakashi's spine. "Now I'm sure you're curious about this. We have about five minutes before we arrive. Ask your questions."

"What's going on?" Kakashi asked.

"We're heading to Hidden Mist. I got information from my spy network today that there will be an attack on the Mizukage, and the Leaf will take the blame for it." Jiraiya explained.

"How is that possible?" Kakashi questioned once again.

"Someone forged a missive. My guess is that it's the same group that attacked the Leaf Village, but I have nothing to base that on. Just a feeling." Jiraiya mused as he began to pace back and forth.

"Do you think you and I will be enough for this?" Kakashi asked, now feeling a bit overwhelmed.

"Well, I was going to have to do this alone. So I feel a bit better." Jiraiya responded honestly. "But I won't lie, this is going to be dangerous. If this unknown party feels confident enough to attack a Kage that is also a Jinchuriki, they must be powerful." He was cut off by the sound of a deep croak. "Looks like we're here. C'mon, there's no time to waste." And with that, Jiraiya and Kakashi were involuntarily vomited from the toad's belly. Kakashi wanted to moan in disgust as he felt the goopy vomit roll down his neck, but he held his tongue. "Sorry, if I had told you about that part, you wouldn't have done it." Jiraiya whispered as he pushed himself off of the ground. They were standing in the middle of the woods next to a large puddle. Jiraiya simply nodded at the toad, who croaked once more and hopped into the puddle, which was apparently a lot deeper than it looked. "Remember this spot. That little toad is your ride home if I don't make it out of there." Kakashi gulped at this, but he nodded and followed Jiraiya into the darkness, pulling his headband up and revealing his Sharingan. No sense in holding onto any of his cards.

XxX

"Ten seconds." A voice whispered in the dark, muffled by the gentle breeze. The source of the voice was from the branches of a tree along a path that led to the port of the Land of Water closest to the Mist Village. On the path traveled a group of four heavily-armed men. One of them was Mangetsu, who seemed to be more alert than his companions, as if he were expecting something. Strapped on his back was a large, wide, almost flounder shaped bundle of bandages, with twin sword hilts sticking out of the top. Along with him were two of his subordinates in the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, a group of highly-trained weapon-masters from the village. One of them was Zabuza Momochi, a muscular, pale-skinned man with short spiky black hair. He wore no shirt, though most of his lean body, including part of his face, was wrapped up in bandages as if he were a mummy. On his back was a deadly looking broadsword with a sleek, thin blade that had a head shaped hole carved into the top part. The last member of the swordsman was a very intimidating looking fellow. He had pale blue scale-like skin that seemed to wriggle and quiver due to the night chill. His teeth were similar to Mangetsu's shark-like teeth, and he also seemed to have a set of gills on each cheek. He wore a long black cloak, and on his back was a broadsword as long as Zabuza's, but much thicker, and wrapped in bandages like Mangetsu's. The sword seemed to be wriggling as well.

At the head of the group was a young boy with pale green hair and gentle eyes, The Mizukage of the Hidden Mist Yagura. He also had a weapon strapped to his back, though it was not a blade like each of his bodyguards wielded. It was a long staff that curved into a hook at the top, almost like a shepherd's crook. On his face he bore a scar that traveled through his left eye, though his eye was perfectly fine. His shoulders and neck were wrapped up in a thick, green scarf that flowed down to his feet. He wore a battle-style kimono of the same color.

"Now."

Suddenly Yagura reacted as his senses flew into overdrive. Something crashed down onto the ground a millimeter to his left, and the force of the impact was enough to blow Yagura backwards into the trees. The young Mizukage easily recovered in the air and landed horizontally for a brief moment before bounding off of it in another direction. He felt a presence appear at his side and flipped over, his back turning into a spiky, gray tortoise shell as he did. The presence struck out against a shell as hard as solid metal, causing a tremor to travel up through the assailant's leg and through his body. Yagura landed on a tree and bounded off of it in a similar fashion to how he had before back onto the road. There, his three subordinates were in a triangle formation with their swords drawn.

"Lord Mizukage!" Zabuza exclaimed in relief as his eyes met the eyes of his leader.

"Look out!" Yagura's warning went unheeded as his three swordsmen were caught up in a large explosion, from where it originated Yagura couldn't tell. He felt a wave of heat wash over him as smoke blew past him in streams. In one fluid motion he whipped the staff off of his back and slammed it on the ground, blowing away the smoke with a powerful gust. Not a second after did Obito descend onto the ground in front of Yagura, and they locked eyes. Yagura knew it was over as he gazed into the artistic pattern of the Sharingan and felt his mind lulled into a trance. A feral roar echoed through his mind as his vision darkened and he lost sight of the world.

XxX

"Oh shit."

Jiraiya came to stop and held his arm out in a halting motion, which brought Kakashi to the ground not a moment later.

"Is that what I think it is?" Kakashi asked, suddenly really regretting coming along for this impromptu mission.

"How would you like to be a Jinchuriki kid?" Jiraiya asked ominously, causing Kakashi to balk at him. "Kidding. If it comes to that, I'll seal it in myself."

"You can't be serious."

"I really hope I'm not."

XxX

 **A/N: So that took a while. Left you with something to look forward to. I got sick for a little bit and then sorta lost my groove, but I got it back on track, and now I'm really getting into it. Little things are starting to fall into place. It's nice to see from my perspective. I hope it's nice from yours as well. Thanks for reading.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: Shedding Skin

Obito could do nothing as the one Mist ninja who had truly been loyal to Yagura was besieged by his former comrades. Tethered to the ground by his captor's will, he could only act as a bystander as he hoped for the impossible. But impossible it was, for this man could not possibly defeat Obito's captors if he somehow managed to slay his traitorous village brethren.

Back and forth the bandaged man danced, his sleek, gleaming blade waving gracefully through streaks of moonlight that poked holes in the canopy of the dark forest. One of the traitors, the man Obito had met in the Mist Village while his captor took hold of his body, wielded a sword of amazing strength. Once he had drawn it, the sword had ignited with glistening, blue chakra that burned like a bright flame. His weapon was more of a swiss army knife than a true sword, for in reality it could shift the chakra into any sort of weapon the user chose. Where that sword was magnificent and beautiful, the other traitor's sword was horrific and nightmarish. Scales of sweating, pulsing flesh stuck out, sharp as kunai each tiny piece of flesh. The sword wriggled and writhed around as if possessed by madness, each scale quivering with lustful trepidation. Atop the blade, where a point would normally be, instead was a gurgling, drooling mouth with rows and rows of rotting teeth extending back into it's throat.

Obito felt his body tugged away to the task at hand. The group of figures he was attached to had begun to prepare a ritual to seal the Three-Tailed Turtle. The monstrous, stalwart beast stood silently in the forest like a stone monolith carved into the canvas of the midnight sky. It's humongous, armored shell heaved with every breath the creature drew, adorned with protective spikes that narrowed to a razor's edge point. The horns of the demon's faceplate curled like hellish flames around it's face, one of them protruding out right in front of the beast's right eye, blocking out most of its view. And it's other eye was a reflection of his own, the Sharingan. Obito felt like he was looking in a mirror.

Obito could feel the sheer mass of the creature as he stood next to it, almost feeling claustrophobic in its presence. It was beyond Obito how anyone had the ability to seal such an almighty creature. But just as he was, the creature was doomed to be used as no more than a wrench or a screwdriver. A simple tool for man to inflict wear upon until something better came along.

"Start the technique. I need full concentration to control _this one_." The leader of the figures commanded, grabbing Obito's attention away from the beast. He could feel the figure's vicegrip on his will tighten and his muscles tensed and tightened along with it. He felt his legs shift and felt himself carried over the trio of cloaked figures. One of them sat on the ground cross-legged, with a parchment scroll unfurled in front of the figure's legs. Ink markings made up of many complex characters were painted across the surface in concentric circles around three thick, emboldened slash marks. Obito understood none of it, but he had seen his late Sensei work on seals many times, and they weren't usually this complex. His stomach lurched as his body descended to the ground and sat in a meditative position. He felt his chakra start to leak out of his body and into the seal as the written letters ignited with radiant chakra one by one. It was an odd sensation, a sickening one as well. It felt as if there was a current of water rushing through his body towards a gaping hole in his head.

And for once, Obito was glad that the hood of his cloak had been down. Without a moment's notice, a man with long, spiky white hair crashed down onto the ground in front of him, shredding the scroll to bits with a technique he was very familiar with. His soul leapt with joy at the sight of the swirling, screeching drill of chakra. Of course, when the man exploded, the joy melted into pain as he was sent tumbling backwards by a wave of rolling fire. He ripped his burning cloak off as he felt himself gain a modicum of willpower back, and pushed himself up enough to have a look at the scene. He didn't know how he survived the explosion, but he could see Jiraiya tangling with two of his captors in close-combat through the curtain of thick black smoke. The third, the leader, must have been caught in the explosion and actually injured from what Obito could tell. He had more freedom than he had ever had before. He wasn't fully in control, but he could move of his own accord. Not coordinated enough apparently, as his arms caved in from under him and he thudded against the dirt. He attempted to push himself up again and when he looked up he froze in place. Not ten yards from him stood the boy who he had given his life to save. The boy he had given half of his vision to. Sharingan and Sharingan met as Kakashi stood deathly still, his face pale and his eyes wide in disbelief.

"O...Obito?" He offered tentatively, as if he didn't know whether this was some sort of illusion or not. But his Sharingan told him it was reality. Obito was really on the ground in front of him.

"Kakashi! Quickly...kill me."

XxX

"No Rin, unfortunately I don't have much more information to give." The Third Hokage stated apologetically. "I trust in Jiraiya's judgement." He paused, his eyes widening a bit. "That's a scary thing, isn't it my dear?" Rin chuckled as she rocked a sleeping Naruto back and forth.

"Sensei trusted him more than anyone else." Rin reminisced, her eyes locked onto Naruto's tuft of blonde hair. He looked just like Minato. Except for the purple wells of gravity he called eyes. "But I've heard many tales." A smile crossed her face. "And I've read both of his books, so I know how the man thinks." This piqued Hiruzen's interest.

"Both of his books?" He questioned a bit suggestively. Rin chuckled again.

"Well, the first one, _The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi_ , Sensei made us read because of how much he loved it and how insightful it was. I didn't like it as much as Sensei did, but Jiraiya is certainly a skillful writer. He's good at telling a story." Rin admitted with a shrug.

"And the other one?" The Hokage question even more suggestively, his eyebrow raising curiously. He knew it was a bit inappropriate, but he had yet to meet a woman who had positive thoughts about Jiraiya's latest creative effort.

"What, a girl can't like a smut novel as much as a guy does?" Rin asked, rolling her eyes, though her cheeks took on a tinge of pink. "I'm young, and I haven't experienced much of those things…so it's all a bit exciting to me." She answered casually.

"You're awfully forthcoming about all of this." The Hokage pointed out, earning a shrug from the young girl.

"How did you know when you were in love with your wife?" Rin asked, dodging his observation. The Hokage was a bit taken aback by the question, but he realized that she had no one else to talk to these kinds of things about. She was an orphan. She no longer had a Sensei. The only mother figure in her life had been Kushina. Kakashi was literally the only person she had left. And she sure as hell couldn't talk to him about anything like this could she?

"It's hard to recall a place and time." The Hokage answered, stroking his beard as he reached back into his memory. "I met Biwako when I was young and words like 'genius' and 'prodigy' were being thrown around. It was hard to tell when people were genuine. With her it wasn't so hard." He smiled, and he seemed to become ten years younger as he remembered. "I think, if there's a moment I ever really knew it, it was when I returned home after my Sensei sacrificed himself to the Kinkaku Force during the First Shinobi World War. I returned with the title of Hokage, and my life, and a strong desire to never let any harm to come to my village, my friends, and especially Biwako. I knew I was in love when I was counting the minutes until I would next see her. Being young is really a wonderful thing." Hiruzen finished his ramble with a chuckle. Rin nodded pulled Naruto a little closer.

"Do you think they'll be okay?" Rin asked softly. The Hokage struck a match and brought it to his pipe. A plume of smoke cascaded out of his mouth and into the air. He sighed.

"Jiraiya was worried they would be up against the Tailed Beast. You know what they're capable of." Hiruzen pointed out, his gaze wandering out the window and over the village which still beared the scars of the attack. Rin nodded and looked up at the clock. She watched the second finger _tick-tick-tick_ steadily behind the glass. As the ticker crossed the threshold between 60/0 on the clock, the minute hand shifted and fell on top of the zero, signaling a fresh hour.

XxX

"What did you just say to me?" Kakashi was reeling. Discovering Obito was alive was unfathomable. He had watched his teammate die beneath the rubble of a powerful Earth Style technique. He had carried the weight of his body in guilt on his shoulders since that moment. But there he was, his lungs drawing breath with each moment. His lone working eye blinking, a reflection of Kakashi's own eye. A badge of honor he cherished more than anything else.

"You need to kill me. He's using my Sharingan to control the Three-Tails." Obito explained. And Kakashi was certainly caught off guard by the revelation, but how could he possibly murder his friend, without so much as a hello?

"Obito I can't kill you." Kakashi stated, his voice quivering as his eyelids fluttered, as if to wipe away this hallucination from his eyes. Still real. "I just found you."

"Kakashi, he's got me under his control. If you kill me you can set the Three-Tails free." The young Uchiha beseeched.

"Obito I can't-" Kakashi started to say but was cut off as he jumped away to avoid a spiral of raging, hot green fire. His eyes swept across the forest and he caught sight of a cloaked figure, with his cloak scorched and in tatters, in the midst of a mad dash for Obito's defenseless body. Kakashi barely got a yard closer before the figure pulled out a blade and poised it to gouge Obito's guts out. Obito twisted at the last moment and the blade instead sunk into the arm, hacking off a piece of his flesh and opening up the bloody floodgates. The crimson liquid of life pulsed out across his skin and down into the ground, where it began to form a puddle. Kakashi was able to knock the man off of Obito, blasting him away with Kakashi's Sensei's signature technique, the **Rasengan** , albeit much smaller than his Sensei or Jiraiya could conjure **.** Kakashi immediately knelt down and pulled a bandage out of his utility pouch. Obito struggle and growled in pain as Kakashi began to nurse his arm.

"What the hell are you doing?" Obito berated through gritted teeth. "Forget about me I-"

"I'm not forgetting about you Obito. Not again." Kakashi stated adamantly, tying off the bandage. "Keep pressure on it, and try and find someplace to hide."

"That may not be necessary. Kid, you said he's controlling you?" Jiraiya's voice cut through the smoke and startled both of them. "I chased the other two off. They seemed very hesitant to engage me. Strange." Jiraiya explained, shrugging. "How is he controlling you?" The sage asked, kneeling down next to Obito.

"A seal…" Obito grunted out through the pain. Jiraiya nodded and pulled a seal tag out of his pocket.

"I assumed so. Kakashi go find the other Mist ninja and led him your aid. We could use another ally. I'm going to try and break his connection with the Three-Tails." Jiraiya ordered.

"What about the other one?" Kakashi asked, looking around but catching to sign of the cloaked figure who had wounded Obito.

"If he's anything like his comrades he won't come near me. Just go. That's an order." Jiraiya re-iterated. Kakashi simply nodded and turned to take one last look at Obito.

"The white haired one is a traitor." Obito offered. Kakashi nodded and leapt away with his parting gift in mind. Jiraiya sighed as he looked at the young boy. One of his eyes was permanently shut and bruised. The flesh was red and puffy, and it looked tender to the touch. He hadn't spoken much with Obito before, only occasionally when he stopped by Minato's training sessions. He wished he had after he found out the young boy had died. But now he needed to know how he was alive, and how he was connected to this whole fiasco. "We're gonna get a little intimate here kid, just bear with me." Obito simply nodded and Jiraiya pulled a kunai out and slowly cut the boy's shirt open. His eyebrows furrowed at what he saw. "What in six hells?" Aside from the complex seal on Obito's navel, he had six solid, steel rods sticking out of his ribs. The poles seemed to be literally grafted into his bones. How he could even move was beyond Jiraiya.

"They're part of his technique." Obito rasped. Jiraiya nodded.

"Okay well, this is too complex for me to crack right now. I'm just going to apply a null seal, which should cancel out his seal. You'll fall into a sort of coma, but I assure you we'll fix this when we get you back to the village." Jiraiya explained, laying the seal tag over Obito's belly. "I'll make sure your body stays safe." With that, he activated the seal, and Obito's body went stiff like a board before he fell into a deep sleep, his eyes fluttering shut. Jiraiya picked the boy up and leapt away, trying to put as much distance between him and the beast as possible. He knew his seal had worked when he heard the guttural, demonic roar of the Three-Tails rip through the forest with vicious force. Now he needed to find Kakashi and get the hell out of here.

XxX

It wasn't hard for Kakashi to find the dueling Mist ninja. They were as evenly matched as before, both sides having grown a bit tired but certainly not out for the count. Each of them sported superficial cuts and wounds from the opposing blades, but nothing gruesome enough to slow any of them down. He was glad he was to join in on the underdog's side. He didn't like the idea of joining in just to gang up on one man. He wasted no time as his hand ignited with crackling blue lightning, his own created technique he called the **Chidori**. The sound of a thousand birds chirping erupted through the trees, and Kakashi dashed forward through the trees towards the blue-skinned traitor. He lashed out with his fist of lightning, though the swordsman had heard him coming and had brought his sword around to block the attack. Kakashi felt the chakra of his technique forcefully vacuumed out of his hand by the sword and felt a few scales puncture his skin before he disengaged and jumped away. The lone Mist ninja took notice of him.

"His sword can suck up your chakra." The bandaged man informed. "I'll deal with him. You deal with Adam Sandler over here." He suggested, earning a nod from Kakashi. Zabuza jumped over to Kakashi's flank.

"That's low Zabuza." The white haired ninja stated with a 'tsk', flexing his bicep. As he flexed his bicep, his arm quickly turned into a river-like appendage of water before forming into a regular arm once more. Kakashi saw it all with his Sharingan, but was very confused.

"He can change any part of his body into water at will." Zabuza explained. "Damned Bloodline Limits…"

"But my **Chidori** should take care of that right?" Kakashi questioned half-rhetorically, earning a chuckle from Zabuza.

"Yeah. What's your name?" Zabuza asked, earning a curious look from Kakashi.

"Kakashi Hatake. Of the Leaf." He stated, somewhat proudly.

"Well Kakashi Hatake of the Leaf, if we die here I just want to say sorry you were dragged into this." Zabuza hoisted his sword up as he spoke honorably. He dashed forward then, within moments crashing into the scaley, blue mass of flesh of a sword with his own blade. The mouth of the nightmarish blade screeched in agony as Zabuza's sharp steel cut into the living sword. Meanwhile, Kakashi disappeared and hid his presence in the forest, not wanting to take on a swordsman of that caliber head on. He created a **Lightning Clone** , which took a significant amount of his remaining energy, and sent it out in the field to do battle. He only had enough energy to sustain one **Chidori** and maybe some sort of auxiliary technique. He had to make this count. His eyes stayed locked on his clone as he watched it keep it's distance at first, hurling shuriken and kunai at the swordsman, keeping a nice buffer between them. Mangetsu then made a bold move, charging forward straight at a barrage of shuriken, letting his torso melt into a clear, liquid form so that the shuriken passed harmlessly through. Kakashi's clone barely cartwheeled out of the way of a giant hammer strike, created from the chakra coating of Mangetsu's blade. Mid cartwheel, the clone pushed off with his hand and shot up in the air. The clone flipped over and activated Kakashi's signature technique, and shot back down toward Mangetsu like a bolt of lightning. Mangetsu easily sidestepped the obvious attack and sliced through the clone's torso with his arm that had become a blade of thin, rippling water. The clone's body exploded with lightning, and Mangetsu was caught off guard. His body convulsed as his form destabilized and he slowly began to melt and drip onto the ground.

"Fuck!" Kakashi leapt from his hiding place as Mangetsu's curse evaporated into the air. It would only take a moment for him to reach Mangetsu and plunge a fist of lightning through his heart. Water or not, it would kill him.

However, he would not have a chance to do that, as no more than a second after his toes touched the ground, did the Three-Tails regain it's will and begin to rampage. Kakashi was too shocked to move as the Three-Tails swallowed a tiny, amorphous ball of chakra that seemed to have a massive density. The the creature's jaw unhinged and a blast of truly-powerful, explosive chakra rocketed out across the forest, blowing Kakashi and everyone else in the area what felt like across the continent. Kakashi blacked out instantly as his body was caught in the radius of the blast and swept up like a clump of dust in the wind.

XxX

" _You have no right to slander my clan in such a way!"_

" _I have every right! Your clan has brought nothing but the seeds of discord to our village!"_

" _You forget that my ancestor founded this village alongside the First Hokage!"_

" _I forget nothing! I will never forget how your ancestor murdered the First in cold blood with the very creature that was seen with the Sharingan in its eye the night of the Nine-Tails' attack!"_

Mikoto sighed as she picked up her glass and loosely twirled it around, swishing its contents back and forth. She lifted it to her lips and let the gentle sweetness rush along her tongue. A gentle warmth expanded from her belly.

She didn't know why she was replaying the conversation from the council meeting over and over in her head. But it was all she had done since that day. She felt like a hot mess without Kushina. She couldn't talk to her husband that was for damn sure. He hadn't even so much as lifted a finger to defend her or her clan.

She took another sip and placed the glass on the stone coffee table in front of her. Her hands glided across the leather surface of the couch and she slowly pushed herself up, rising like a crane above the tall reeds. She stretched her arms up high and stretched mightily, loosening up her muscles, dull like the entropy of the day she had endured.

Fugaku was on a mission, a result of the recent council meeting. All Clan Heads had been placed on active duty and thus had been sent out of the village on missions. Some more woefully unimportant than others. Surely someone else could have escorted a simple tea merchant to the Land of Rivers. But it had been the perfect situation. A Genin team had needed a fill-in for their Jonin Sensei.

"Fucking Danzo." She muttered with utter contempt. "Fucking Danzo!" She whirled around and flung the glass at the wall. It shattered on contact and a hundred glistening pieces of glass dropped to the floor. She felt unsatisfied. Itachi came running out of his room.

"Mom! Are you okay?" The question hung in the air for awhile. She looked between the wet spot on the wall and Itachi a few times before blinking once or twice.

"Yes. I'm-I'm fine. Could you clean that up? Please?" She asked, her eyes almost begging. Itachi simply nodded and walked away to find the broom. He didn't want to ask any questions. As long as she wasn't hurt…

As Itachi was sweeping up the rest of the mess his mother, who had disappeared to compose herself before, re-entered the room.

"Get your brother. We're going for a walk."

"But mom, it's 2 AM."

"It's fine Itachi. Unless you're too tired. Sasuke is going to wake up in an hour anyway." They shared a chuckle at that.

"No, I'll go. Give me a minute." Itachi took off with the rest of the debris to deposit in the trash, and then was off to find his brother. Mikoto smiled.

Twenty minutes later found them at one of the few entrances to the Uchiha Training Grounds. The trip there had been mostly silent, save for Mikoto humming a little lullaby to Sasuke. The cool, brisk night air felt good to Itachi. He was just glad to spend time with his mother.

"Why are we here mom?'" Itachi asked as they stopped at the threshold of the forest.

"I want to see how strong you've become. All I've heard from anyone is 'Itachi this' and 'Itachi that', but I haven't seen anything." Mikoto explained earnestly. Sasuke was cradled in her arms, staring up at his beloved mother with wide, gleeful eyes. He giggled and Mikoto couldn't help but giggle back. "Unless you're too tired. I don't want to force you to do this." She added on. Itachi was excited and nervous at the same time. He could show his mom he could protect her.

"I'll show you." Itachi stated, the ends up his lips curling up. "Let's go." Mikoto nodded and followed Itachi into the forest; as they crossed the threshold their figures were swallowed up by the shadows of the leaves, where they walked hand-in-hand and side-by-side.

XxX

There was a loud ringing noise. A very loud, screeching, fucking annoying as hell ringing sound, and a white light. Kakashi tried to yell 'shut the fuck up!' but he couldn't find his voice. Or any of him for that matter. He felt weightless, as if he had discarded his body long ago and succumbed the energy of unity. He felt like a dream on a drop of dew, waiting to be plucked free of his leaf and descend into the well of the roots and beyond. And then his vision slowly came back to him. And he saw leaves. And he saw the midnight sky. And he saw fire, an alarming amount of fire, and then his brain came back to him, and the realized where he was.

"To hell and back." He recited, referencing an old Hidden Stone piece of propaganda he had come across during the war. He wasn't sure where hell currently was, but he was sure it wasn't the same hell the ad was referring to. Somewhere in Mist Country. He died somewhere in Mist Country.

"You ain't dead yet kid." Kakashi turned his head, ever-so-slowly, and spotted the Mist ninja he had allied himself with for a short time. Upon further inspection he realized that they had to be close in age, but the Mist boy was much larger than he was. They must have had some good veggies out in Hidden Mist. It did rain a lot.

"We're about the same age. You can't call me kid." Kakashi rebutted defiantly. He then rolled his eyes. "And thank you for not killing me." He added tactfully.

"I thought about it. Force of habit." Zabuza joked, and Kakashi wasn't sure if he wanted to laugh. Zabuza shook his head. "The blast from the Three-Tails knocked you out. I came to not that long ago, but I saw that white haired guy you were with summon a giant toad and fend off those guys in cloaks and the Three-Tails. Well, the Three-Tails sorta ran away." Zabuza admitted with a chuckle. "But if he wants to tell it the other way it's fine with me."

"I don't think he cares about that. Where is he?" Kakashi asked, regaining his coordination and pushing himself to his feet. Zabuza motioned towards the direction Jiraiya had gone and Kakashi leapt away without a word. As he started to track Jiraiya he felt the Mist ninja fall into line with him and follow him. He felt the need to double his awareness, but he knew such a thing would not be possible. He was as aware as he could be right now. He hadn't forgotten about Obito.

"Kakashi!" Kakashi grinded to a halt as he heard Jiraiya's voice ring out from his left. He pivoted and scanned the noir forest, finding Jiraiya's bright figure quite easily. He had an unconscious, at least Kakashi hoped, Obito slung over his shoulder. They met halfway and Zabuza came up not too far behind him. Jiraiya regarded him with a nod.

"I assume you're the one who was loyal to Yagura?" The sage asked, earning a nod from Zabuza.

"Yes. Now I must return to the Mist Village and begin looking for a new Mizukage." He stated, his voice a bit deflated.

"Well, whatever faction you support will find us as an ally." Jiraiya stated. "You and I have a lot of talking to do, but that can wait for another day. I expect a message to the Hokage in no more than a week. From you personally." The white haired man left no room for discussion.

"Fair enough." With that, Zabuza disappeared in a shroud of Mist. Jiraiya chuckled.

"Semantics."

"Is Obito okay?" Kakashi interrupted. It was all he could think about.

"For now. We need to get him back to the village."

"Alright fine. Let's go." Kakashi suggested urgently.

"Don't get sassy with me kid. You still have to ride home in my toad." At this, Kakashi's face paled. Just the mention of the toad brought back the smell of swamp.

"Let's just go." Jiraiya chuckled and lead the way through the forest back to the puddleportal. He was glad to have a laugh. Not many men did after two encounters with a Tailed Beast. But he and Kakashi had. He thought Kakashi would do just fine in ANBU.

XxX

"Sssso you sssay it'sss the dna of the Firssst Hokage." Hissed whispers rolled off the long, thin snake tongue that hung regally is the air. Below the tongue, on a throne made of stone, sat the pale white figure of Orochimaru. He was dressed in a green and gold kimono, and he had a class of purple liquid in his hand.

"Quite the specimen isn't it Manda?" Orochimaru gloated, his ego in full bloom. The hulking, purple scaled snake crouched down and slithered around the side of Orochimaru. His slimy, purple scales glistened in the torchlight from the front of the cave-like-room.

"Whatt do you plan to do witthh it?" Manda asked, getting straight to the point. The King of the Snakes was not one for small talk, Orochimaru had learned.

"Danzo wanted me to clone it. I was thinking of keeping my own clone and grooming it to become my next body." Orochimaru answered, his eye alight with desire.

"I sssee. Well I have a messssage for you." Manda hissed. "The Great Snake Elder had a dream. A prophetic dream."

"Oh? Do tell. I would love to shove that in Jiraiya's face." Orochimaru hissed back gleefully.

"You would do well to take thisss ssseriousssly. Sssnakesss do not normally drream." Manda urged. "He dreamt that a caterpillar wove itssself into itsss own cocoon, and monthsss later, when it emerged, it emerged as a crow with white wings."

"How poetic." Orochimaru stated disinterestedly. "I think I shall write a song about it."

"Do not mock me Orochimaru."

"And do not forget who sits on your throne." Orochimaru shot back in retaliation. "I have no time for dreams and prophecies. I'll write my own if I desire them." Disgust dripped from Orochimaru's voice as he stood up. "I'm leaving. Get that next batch of poison ready soon." With that, Orochimaru disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving Manda to wade in his anger alone.

Orochimaru re-appeared in the middle of the forest, close to one of the Leaf Village gates. He surveyed the area quickly and was about to take off into the night when he spotted a crow high in the branches. The profile of the crow was outlined by the pale moonlight. It's beady, black eye stared at Orochimaru as if it were looking right through him. Orochimaru chuckled.

"Poetic indeed." He began his journey back to the Leaf Village without another thought. The raven stood still though, clutching to the branch with practiced ease. On the other side of the crow's race, illuminated by the white moonlight, was a single Sharingan eye, like a ball of fire in the night. The crow CAWED once and flew off into the night, with a sort of purpose etched into its nerves. To disappear into the night.

XxX

 **A/N: Took awhile but here we go. I wrote two versions of the beginning of this chapter before landing on the third. I think it's getting good now. I'm dropping hints everywhere. It was a lot of fun the third time around. I really like what I'm planning on doing with Manda too. That was a spur of the moment idea.**

 **Kind of short chapter, but the main focus was supposed to be the battle, and I split it up with minor incidents that have importance. I think the biggest thing that happened (obviously) is that Obito was rescued. That kinda happened organically too. I knew Kakashi was going to meet up with Obito in this chapter, but I didn't know how that was going to end. But I figured in order to make the Three-Tails violent, Obito needed to break his connection with the Three-Tails. And Jiraiya is just the man to get it done. I have a lot in store for Obito. Anyway thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed.**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five: Where Everybody Knows Your Name

Itachi couldn't get his mother's words from the night before out of his head. Why were people so concerned with him and his apparent 'prodigal skill'? How did it affect them at all? Unless they happened to be paired with him on a mission in the future, they would never even see the so called 'prodigal skill' they went on and on about. It was supposed to be a point of pride for himself, not his clan. The Uchiha seemed to be growing poisonous in Itachi's eyes. Ever since the Nine-Attack Itachi could see it. It was as if there were some festering, decaying wound growing more infected with each passing day in the backs of their minds. Something was going on politically, but he hadn't been able to glean too much information from his mother. Only that the higher-ups didn't trust the Uchiha.

Itachi shook his head and reeled himself in. He was too young to be brooding on such notions. Plus he had come here with an objective, and he didn't want anything to get in his way.

The Konoha Library and Archives was certainly a magnificent well of knowledge. It was bigger than any other building in the village, literally taking up half of the Hokage mountain, which it was built into. It consisted of multiple levels with endless amounts of books lined up on gray, stone shelves; each level needed a higher level of clearance to reach it. There was even a small room at the top strictly for the Hokage and anyone the Hokage deemed trustworthy. Itachi, as one who was not even in the ninja corps, had access to less than half of the first level. But Itachi had not come unprepared.

He had visited the Hokage again earlier, this time not having to resort to using his crows, and had gotten written permission to withdraw a specific book. He hadn't been sure the Hokage would go for it, but the old man had gladfully obliged. In fact he seemed to support Itachi's thirst for knowledge. Itachi was beginning to respect the Hokage based on not what he was told to do, but based on the man himself.

Itachi approached the small stone counter that served as the reception desk. A man in standard Leaf Village attire stood with a myriad of binders open in front of him. The stone counter loomed over Itachi menacingly, but he cleared his throat to get the man's attention. The man looked up and seemed a bit surprised to see such a young boy there.

"Can I help you?" He asked, his voice showing no interest at all. He was a thin wiry man, with a short scraggle of a beard and thin rimmed glasses with circle-shaped lenses.

"I have a note from the Hokage." Itachi stated, producing the aforementioned note and placing it on the counter. The man picked up the note and pushed his glasses to the top of the bridge of his nose. His eyes scanned over the note in confusion.

"Don't have time for this…" He muttered, folding the note up and putting it in his pocket. "Wait here, I'll be right back." Itachi nodded as the man walked away, off to find the book Itachi had requested. Itachi stood there for a while, occasionally shifting his weight from one leg to the other. Finally, the man returned with a rather thick book. Itachi realized he might be here all day. The man held the book out. "Here. Make sure you bring it up to me when you're done with it, so I can put it back where it belongs."

"Of course. Thank you very much." Itachi thanked respectfully. The man nodded and went back to his binders, while Itachi found a large wooden table to sit at and read. As he sat he examined the book more closely. _The Tales of the Ghost of the Uchiha: A Collection of Myths and Legends_. He flipped it along it's side and noticed a small, golden plaque on the binding with the letter 'S' emblazoned on it. He flipped it back to the front and took a deep breath before opening the cover, activating his Sharingan as he did. He wanted to remember every little detail.

XxX

Rin wasn't sure what wing of the hospital she was in. One she didn't know they had, that was for sure. She had been here many times before on sort-of medical internships, so to speak. It was possible that she knew exactly where she was, but her head was swimming too much for her to recognize it. After the news she had received, she wasn't sure how to feel.

She had been asleep last night when Kakashi and Jiraiya had finally returned safely from their impromptu mission. She hadn't seen Obito. But Kakashi had been there when she woke up.

' _I didn't sleep in your bed I just-...I had to be here when you woke up.'_

Rin smiled slightly at the memory. She had never seen Kakashi so embarrassed.

' _It's Obito, Rin. He's alive.'_ And that had certainly sent her for a loop. After a grueling Q &A she had told Kakashi to go on ahead and she would meet him there. She needed time to process all of it. So she had taken her time getting ready. But now she found herself just steps away from the door that could lead to so many things. Her fingers trembled with trepidation as she reached out for the doorknob. The screech of the metal doorknob echoed along the sterile, white walls of the empty hallway. She jumped a bit at the noise, but found her confidence and pushed the door open.

She was first greeted by the sight of a long, white mane of spiky hair. Jiraiya had his back turned towards the door and was hovering over Obito's bed, closely examining him. On the other side of the bed Kakashi and the Hokage stood back, leaving Jiraiya to his examination. Kakashi's eyes lit up as she entered the room. He took a step toward her.

"Rin...come see…" He prodded hesitantly. She swallowed unconsciously and walked forward, her feet floating like feathers across the linoleum floor. The bed slowly came into her view and tears welled up in her eyes as they spotted a pair of bare feet. They slowly traveled up over a blanket and found the bare chest of the unconscious body. At the sight of the steel rods poking out of his ribs and the marking she recognized as a seal Rin couldn't hold back a sob. She quickly regained her composure; she didn't want Obito to see her like this. His chest rose and deflated a bit with each breath he took, and Rin felt herself choke on dryness as her eyes identified Obito's scarred face. It was him, there was no doubt in her mind.

"Oh Obito…" Her voice quivered like a shivering animal in a harsh winter. Kakashi sidled up beside her and nervously put a hand on her shoulder. She was confused when he didn't move. "Is...is he sleeping?" She asked tentatively. It was at this point Jiraiya took a break from his examination, leaning back in his chair and greeting Rin with a nod.

"It's more complicated than that." Jiraiya stated. "Hello Rin." He added as an afterthought.

"Master Jiraiya." She replied through a bout of sniffles.

"I'm sure you've seen a seal before, you're Minato's students. This one is a bit tricky. Obito is more or less in a coma. And he'll probably stay that way until I can figure this fucking poem of a seal out." Jiraiya finished somewhat frustratedly.

"Watch your language Jiraiya." The Hokage berated, his first words of the day to Rin.

"It's okay Lord Hokage. Minato always said I had Kushina's mouth when I got angry." Rin cut in, trying to deflate the situation. Hiruzen looked over at Kakashi, who seemed to ponder the comment.

"...She's very creative." He stated flatly. Jiraiya chuckled at that. Rin fought back a smile, but it overwhelmed her and she couldn't help it. Obito wasn't there to see her, but he was there. Alive. A wave of happiness washed over her and spread the warmth of the sun across her skin. She only wished her Sensei could have been here. And then it occurred to her-

"Where did you find him?" Her question cut like a knife through the room, leaving silence to bleed from the wound. Hiruzen cleared his throat and looked at Jiraiya, who sighed and nodded.

"Right now this is top-secret information. We can't really keep it from you though. Obito would tell you anyway." Jiraiya explained, leaning forward as his voice went down a decibel. "We honestly don't know much yet. But that's why figuring out this seal is my number one priority, because we need to know what he knows." He went on to explain the events that had occurred the night before. Rin really couldn't fathom any of it. She could see that even though Kakashi had experienced it, he still almost didn't believe it himself. When Jiraiya was finished, Rin simply blinked.

"This...is a lot to take in at once." She stated unsurely. Jiraiya nodded.

"I know. It's okay. Kakashi, why don't you take her to eat. The Hokage and I won't be leaving this room all day, or all night if it comes to that. Get your mind off things." Jiraiya suggested reassuringly. "No training." He added as an afterthought. "You're likely to get yourself killed."

"Rin?" Kakashi asked, gazing at her curiously, getting a nod in response.

"Sure. Let's go." She replied cheerfully. Kakashi nodded and let her lead them out of the room. As the door closed Jiraiya went back to work. He gazed at each marking with intense scrutiny, analyzing each one every-which-way he could. Hiruzen pulled out his pipe and lit it with a match, inhaling with a patient breath. Jiraiya sighed.

"Do you have a monocle or something? I need something to magnify these letters."

"You think because I'm old I possess a monocle that I carry with me at all times that I use to dress up like a stalking butler named Gareth and blend in among the citizenry." Hiruzen rebutted half-jokingly.

"No, but that second part if very interesting. Can I be the stable boy in this fantasy? They always get laid right?" Jiraiya quipped with a grin.

"Not unless they get their brains kicked through their skull by a horse." The Hokage mused, turning Jiraiya's grin into a frown. "And I do have a monocle." Hiruzen stated, reaching into his cloak and producing a monocle. Jiraiya snatched it from his Sensei's open palm and chuckled.

"You're just full of surprises today."

XxX

"Dango. I want Dango." Rin's voice fluttered alluringly through the air. She was walking on the feathers of a soaring dove. It was as if a piece of her heart and clicked back into place. And Kakashi was just as happy to see her this way.

"For breakfast?" The silver-haired boy asked somewhat skeptically. She turned to him and answered him with a bright, toothy smile.

"Special occasion." She couldn't resist the exuberance that pulsed through her. Rin knew the way by heart, and it was not long before they arrived at the Dango shop, a small stand with four, blue banners that hung over the entranceway with the characters for 'Dango-8-8' on each one. Each of the little "8's" had a stick poking through them, portraying them as sticks of Dango. Rin smiled and waved to the owner as she and Kakashi approached the counter. They each took a seat on a round, cushioned stool. "Good morning Amato."

"Rin! Good to see you again!" The old man bellowed. He had a wide belly and chubby cheeks, and a thin mustache. He wiped his hands on his dirty apron and leaned against the counter. "Breakfast two days in a row?" Rin flushed at this, and Kakashi shot an awfully accusatory and slightly smug look at her.

"What was yesterday's special occasion?" Kakashi asked.

"We got to see baby Naruto." Rin stated sincerely. Kakashi knew it was extremely important to Rin to be involved in that young boy's life in any and every way possible. She had fallen in love with him the minute she held him in her arms. A memento in a bundle of blankets.

"Indeed we did." Kakashi conceded. "He looks just like him doesn't he?"

"Except he has Kushina's eyes." Rin agreed, adding her two cents in. She then shook her head. "I'm sorry Amato. Two trays please."

"Not a problem my lady. I am eager to serve." The owner said, chuckling as he saluted and walked away to prepare the order. Rin smiled back and turned to Kakashi.

"Amato and I are good friends. I've been coming here as long as I can remember." Rin explained. "He's always been kind to me."

"Why have we never come here before?" Kakashi questioned, looking around the place. He liked the decor. It was simple, and reminiscent of an old bamboo-hut tea house on the side of the road.

"Well…" Rin trailed off, not really wanting to explain. Kakashi only grew more curious and continued to gaze at her. "This is where I would go when I needed to be alone." She admitted.

"What do you mean?" Kakashi asked, clearly confused. Her nerves were flaring up as she thought about where this was going. She was conflicted in a thousand different ways with Kakashi. What she felt for Kakashi was special. But he was so wracked with his own guilt he couldn't possibly look at her in that way. She had been trying to break him of that, and had seemed to be getting through to him little by little, but she didn't think he would ever truly open up. And now, with Obito back, he would step back into the shadows and pave the way for Obito, who had confessed his love for her many times, including on his deathbed. They had a silly childish love triangle before, but now it was festering with the unpleasant feelings of guilt and reluctance. She hadn't loved Obito before, and she couldn't force herself to love him. It wouldn't be fair to anyone. But she couldn't force Kakashi to do anything either.

Fortunately, Amato brought the dango and saved her from having to answer. Rin thanked him and dug in immediately, putting Kakashi's question on the back burner. He just shrugged and plucked a stick of the sweet dough balls off of his tray. By the time Kakashi finished his first Rin was starting her fourth.

She didn't want to come off as ungrateful. All of the trees in the Land of Fire could not account for the weight of the overwhelming sense of bliss Obito's re-appearance had bathed her in. She truly cared for Obito, but love was entirely different. It had never been there before, why would it suddenly show up now? The void created by Obito's and later Minato's deaths is what brought her and Kakashi closer together and birthed these feelings that she had. She couldn't make those disappear.

"I would just...need to be alone." Rin answered finally, rolling around her last dango stick on her plate. "It's been so hard to watch you go through this. I want to be there for you, but I can only take so much myself." She explained softly. Kakashi seemed blindsided by the comment.

"What do you-"

"Please, just talk to me like a person, not a ninja Kakashi." Rin interrupted with her demand. Kakashi's one eye went wide, but he sighed and looked down at his feet. "You always have these walls up. Just like that mask." One would wonder how Kakashi could even eat dango through the mask, but even Kakashi had his secrets.

"Being around you is suffocating." Kakashi admitted after a few moments of silence. "Ever since...since…-"

"Since you left me to die." Rin finished tragically. "You and I both know that was a different Kakashi. Not the real one." Rin stated with finality, as if it were a universally accepted truth.

"Do we?" Kakashi questioned. "I'm not so sure of anything anymore." And how could he be? Obito's 'reincarnation' came with all sorts of shell shock. With this Kakashi's grip on the truth loosened even more, his fingers slipping free, one by one.

"Stop talking like that." Rin commanded, her voice shaking. "I forgive you Kakashi, I really truly do. This time that we've spent together since Obito…" She trailed off, searching for a word, but coming up dissatisfied. "Since he left." She continued. "That time has meant more to me than anything else in this world. You kept me from being completely and utterly alone." Kakashi was starting to get swept up in the swirl of emotions this conversation was brewing. He felt a bead of sweat trickle down the back of his neck.

"I'd be dead without you Rin." The words hurt as he let them go. He seemed to sink into himself as the words came out of his mouth. His father had done the same, and it seemed to set him free of his pain. Why couldn't it have done the same for Kakashi. "Everyday I think about it. I think about that blade sticking out of my father's stomach. I see the light glean off of Obito's Sharingan as those boulders cave in. And I just think about how much I don't want to remember." Kakashi was surprised at himself as he spoke. He hadn't purposely divulged so much to Rin, but it had just come pouring out, as if the levees had broken. "But I couldn't do it to you. Not again. I couldn't leave you alone again. I'll never leave you again Rin." He stated with a sigh, shaking his head, unable to look her in the eyes. "But I don't know how close I can get either." Kakashi continued to stare at his lap while Rin just stared at him, unable to speak anymore. She finished her last dango stick hastily and noticed it tasted a bit sour. She never liked the sour flavored ones. She deposited the stick back onto the plate and stood up. She left a random amount of money, probably too much, on the table and stood up, exiting without another word to Kakashi. The chill of the breeze sent a shiver up her spine as she headed wherever her feet decided upon, as her heart couldn't tell left from right.

XxX

The Land of Rice Paddies, as it was so _creatively_ named, was famous for one thing and one thing only. But seeing as rice was one of the, if not most, consumed products across the Elemental Nations, they did quite well for themselves. Most of the time that is.

Usually, the Land of Rice Paddies exported more rice than the rest of the countries of the continent combined, and they were quite rich because of it. But for the last few months they had been experiencing a drought, and it had ravaged their fields. Thousands and thousands of stalks of rice hung wilted and dead, unable to survive long enough to see the harvest. The dirt lay cracked and dry, unable to supply the nutrients needed by the plants. It was truly devastating to the economy.

It was for this reason that Orochimaru found himself on his way the capital of the Land of Rice Paddies, Gabugabu. He had crossed the border between the Land of Fire and Land of Rice Paddies a couple hours ago, after what had been a 2 day trek north from the Leaf Village. It would have taken at least 3 for most ninja, though Orochimaru was far from normal. Quite the opposite really. It was why his Sensei had entrusted him with this mission, though Orochimaru felt it was a sort of test as well. To see where his loyalties lied. It didn't matter to Orochimaru, he had his plans and he wouldn't let his Sensei's foolish games hinder them.

It was midday as Orochimaru dashed as silently as the wind through the dead fields of rice. The sun shone down on him hotly, and beads of sweat trickled down his neck as he propelled himself forward. He wanted to finish this as quickly as possible, so he could get back to his lab. He had made a breakthrough with his cloning process before he had been called away, and the thrill had been intoxicating to the snake summoner. To think that he could potentially possess the Wood Style Technique of the First Hokage one day opened so many doors for him. There would be nothing he couldn't conquer.

His thoughts of ultimate power drove him on for quite a bit longer until he eventually reached what seemed like a mercenary outpost. He slowed his pace and decided to scout the place out rather than pass on by. There were always spoils to be had. The outpost was a small gathering of three shoddily built wooden cabins. To the left of the gathering was an open clearing with a clothesline and well off to the side. And in the middle of the three shacks was a large fire pit with plenty of space for the residents to gather around. Orochimaru's suspicions of it being a mercenary outpost were confirmed when he saw a sentry with a large, two handed sword strapped to his back, and a blue bandana with some sort of sigil, presumably the mercenary company's, emblazoned on it. He let the sentry make his round before he snuck up closer to the closest structure and took a peek inside through a window. There he saw two men standing over the tied up body of a young child. Though the child was quite intriguing. He had two heads. One positioned where anyone's normal head would be, and the second growing out of the back of his spine where his back met his neck.

"Weirdo inbred ninja. That Bunkatsu Clan was full of freaks and mutants." One of the men, the taller of the two, muttered disgustedly. Orochimaru could easily hear him through the window, using his chakra to augment his ear functionality. And they perked up at this. He had read of the Bunkatsu Clan before. If what he read was correct, this boy could have a very rare and powerful Bloodline Limit.

And as if the boy had heard his thoughts and sought to prove himself, Orochimaru observed with overwhelming glee as the boy literally split in two. It was a grotesque and powerful sight, watching the head on the boy's back slowly stretch out and burst forth like a baby from a womb. The roped holding the boy snapped as a second fully formed body stood where there had only been one before. The two mercenaries drew their weapons and took a step back.

"Fucking freak!" The other mercenary shouted in surprise. He took a step forward but could do no more as he was blown backward by an explosion. Orochimaru appeared in front of the boy and knelt down in front of him. He extended his hand and grinned lustfully at him.

"Come with me boys. I'll teach you how to use your power." The two young boys were identical. They both had short, messy silver hair and thin beady eyes. They were skinny and sickly looking and had pale white skin. The two boys looked at each other, and nodded simultaneously before the took Orochimaru's hand. He stood up and disappeared in an instant with boys, whisking them away from the current danger they faced.

Upon nightfall Orochimaru had decided to halt his travel and have a bite to eat. He also wanted to talk to his two new companions. There was much to be learned.

He found a nice clearing and unsealed a few items from a sealing scroll he carried with him. He had a pot he would boil water in, and a small bag of noodles, plenty to share between the three of them. He didn't like to build fires, they gave away your location to any ninja who wasn't a complete moron. Instead he would just heat the pot up using his chakra, which saved time more often than not. And when the noodles were done he also had, conveniently, three bowls and three sets of chopsticks from the scroll as well. He divided up the noodles and extended two bowls to the two boys, who hesitantly took them. Orochimaru admired their hesitance and took the first bite of the noodles, as if to show the boys it wouldn't kill them. After that they dug in. And Orochimaru let them eat in silence. He knew they would be much easier to talk to once their bellies were full. They slurped up the noodles with fervor, as if it was the first meal they had been given in weeks. Finally, as they finished their portions and leaned back satisfactorily, Orochimaru placed his bowl on the ground and cleared his throat.

"What are your names?" He asked curiously. The boys looked at each other.

"I'm Ukon." One of the boys said as he turned to the snake summoner. The other followed suit.

"And I'm Sakon." Orochimaru nodded at their introductions.

"Of the Bunkatsu Clan, am I correct?" Orochimaru questioned, earning nods from the two boys. "Quite an interesting ability you have there. My name is Orochimaru." He introduced dramatically.

"You're a Leaf Ninja?" Ukon asked, his eyes locked on Orochimaru's headband.

"I work for myself." Orochimaru replied staunchly. "The goals I possess shall flourish on a far grander scale than that of the Hidden Leaf Village." He grinned. "And I think you two could help me quite a bit." The boys perked up at this.

"How?" Sakon asked somewhat eagerly.

"I could train you in the art of Ninjutsu. I could teach you to use your marvelous ability to slaughter all who oppose you." Orochimaru offered, his tongue creeping out of his mouth. His voice was dripping with excitement. "You could have power in the world I plan to mold." Blood coursed through his veins like a current of electricity, causing his every cell to vibrate with anticipation. He always felt the rush of adrenaline when he got to musing about his plans.

The boys seemed to be intrigued by the offer, but they were hesitant to show it. After staring at each other for a long time, seemingly communicating without any words spoken, they simultaneously turned to Orochimaru and nodded.

"Okay." They answered in unison. Orochimaru grinned voraciously at his accomplishment.

"Excellent. Come with me. Your first task will be here in the Land of Tea. We are to meet with the CEO of the Rice Exportation Industry…"

XxX

"Well what do you think the council will say?" Two men and two women were gathered together in one room. All of the blinds were shut and all of the doors were sealed. There could be no distractions. The sparsely furnished room was set up like a sort of study. There was a large desk with documents scattered all over it, with a bookshelf behind it, and a plush loveseat on the other side of the room against the wall.

"The council…" One of the voices muttered disenchantedly. "The council will sit on their ass for days and let the situation fall into disarray. Let them decide which teas we should have imported, not which villages we ally ourselves to." The man stated with authority. He was a medium-sized man dressed in the standard attire of a Mist ninja: a striped gray jumpsuit under a pale green haori trimmed with white silk. From his ears hung two earrings with small tag-like talismans hanging from them. And one of his eyes had an eyepatch covering it.

"Is it a wise idea to act without the consent of the council?" One of the women voiced their concern. She was a pale skinned women, with fair, smooth skin and jet-black hair. Her eyes held a quality of gentleness to them. She wore a light, silky blue and white kimono.

"We are without a Mizukage. It is in our best interest to act as quickly as possible." The other man in the room, Zabuza, answered. "I agree with Ao. There is no time to waste."

"Men are always so quick to jump into action." The fourth and final voice in the room cut in. Her voice was savoury and sweet, a tad bit seductive even. Her blood red lips curved into a smile as she flipped back her curly, crimson hair with her long, graceful fingers. Her voluptuous figure was wrapped up in a simple navy blue dress that exposed both of her shoulders. Her legs were dressed in fishnet, and she had a bright white belt looped around her thin waist. "Why should we trust the Hidden Leaf?"

"They helped me." Zabuza answered immediately. "This was not their doing. I can assure you of that."

"No, it was Mangetsu's." Ao, the other man, accused angrily.

"Not just Mangetsu though." The pale-skinned woman tacked on. "We still know nothing about this other party."

"You're right Azayaka." Zabuza replied. "We don't know who they are. But the Hidden Leaf seems to have some information on them. And if we want to learn anything we have to go to them." Zabuza seemed set on allying himself with the Leaf. But he did truly trust them.

"The loss of the Hozuki Clan is a great blow…" Azayaka, the pale skinned woman, admitted. "Mangetsu's brother is too young to sit in with the Inner Circle. Even you Zabuza, are quite young." Ayazaka noted.

"This is out of necessity. Besides, who will be the leader of the Seven Swordsmen?" Zabuza responded.

"I suppose you think it should be you?" The red haired woman inquired rhetorically. "You're just a little boy caught up in events that are on a larger scale than all of us."

"The two of you aren't much older than me." Zabuza shot back spitefully.

"Indeed, the leaders of our two foremost clans are young." Ao cut in, stating it matter-of-factly. "Both of you, Mei and Azayaka, from the Terumi and Yuki Clans respectively, do not have the experience needed to navigate through a situation as this." He explained wisely. "We are without a Kage, and the village is going through a transitional period already. Young people like yourselves must rise to the occasion during periods such as these. Zabuza, you are hereby promoted to First Swordsman of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist."

"Aye. I'm the only one left anyway aren't I?" Zabuza pointed out with a nod. "It's been a long time since there have been seven of us."

"That it has. Your first task as First Sword will be to rebuild the swordsmen. Of course, that will also require you take back the blades stolen by Kisame and Mangetsu." Ao commissioned. "The search for a new Mizukage will be tough, but in times like this we need to stick together. Mei, Azayaka, the village will need your clans to be pillars of support in the days to come."

"Of course. The Terumi Clan will always put the village first." Mei stated confidently. "My father, despite his illness, will give everything he has for this village. As will I."

"The Yuki Clan as well, though I don't know how much we can help. The only ones of us left are me and my sister…" Azayaka added on, slightly disheartened. Ao nodded.

"It is all I can ask of you. Then it is settled. Zabuza, write up a missive to the Leaf Village, and request a meeting for the four of us. I will talk to the council and give them the short version of what we discussed today. You're all dismissed." Ao turned around and began to walk away while Zabuza started to rummage through the desk for a pen and paper.

"Wait!" Mei called out, halting both of the men in their place. They both turned to gaze at Mei. "...what about the Three-Tails?" Zabuza and Ao shared a look at the mention of the missing Tailed-Beast. Ao sighed and shook his head.

"Zabuza said it escaped. The only one in the village who knows how to seal it is me, and we don't have a suitable Jinchuriki." Ao explained bluntly.

"So we're just going to forget about it?" Meei asked incredulously. "Without it we are the weakest ninja village of the Great Five without a doubt."

"We don't have the resources to capture it right now Mei." Ao stated firmly. "It's as as simple as that. I'm not going to waste five Hunter Ninja squads so that I can seal it into the adult. That will result in an incomplete Jinchuriki at best, and more likely an insane one." He explained, leaving no room for discussion. He turned and walked away then, leaving Zabuza to script out his message to the Leaf in silence while the girls sat and pondered what their next move should be.

After a few moments Mei stood up.

"What if I were to produce an heir?" She stated suddenly, pulling Zabuza's attention away from his letter quite abruptly. Words were lost on him.

"I think that's something you should discuss with Ao…" Zabuza offered hesitantly. Azayaka was baffled at her counterpart.

"Think about what you're saying Mei!" Azayaka pleaded. "It's not so simple…" Mei could only sigh as he shoulders sank. Zabuza didn't know what else to say so he simply went back to his letter and let silence reign over them once more.

XxX

"This will set us back for quite some time."

"Now that the Leaf has Obito back, they'll be looking for us."

"Yes, thank you for stating the obvious."

Three cloaked figures stood beneath the glow of a full moon. Rain cascaded down from the heavens like an ominous song, slowly building up but never reaching a crescendo. They stood under the cover of a tall, rusted, abandoned structure that stood alone in the middle of a desolate plain. Left to crumble long ago so that one day a new structure could take its place, brighter and stronger than ever.

One of the cloaked figures, whose cloak was scorched and in tatters, held his hands out in front of him and gazed at them. His eyes let him see every cell, every ripple of chakra, every sinew of muscle beneath his skin. He ripped off the cloak, exposing his body to the twilight. He had shoulder length red hair and a thin, attractive face. His eyes bore a spiral pattern, the pattern of the legendary Eye of the Sage of the Six Paths.

"No more running. No more hiding. We're going to take back our home." The two other cloaked figures seemed stunned by the action, but they discarded their cloaks nevertheless. One of them was a man with spiky orange hair, while the other was a girl with shoulder length blue hair that had a little flower stuck above her forehead.

"Okay. Whatever you say Nagato."

XxX

"...I don't like the look of this."

"He must awaken Jiraiya. We must know what he knows."

Jiraiya sighed and grunted as he examined Obito's seal with disdain. He knew the Hokage was right. But the implications were nothing to sneeze at.

"It could cripple him Sensei. We could ruin his life."

"I don't want to do it either Jiraiya, but sacrifices must be made." The Hokage's tone was stern and remorseful. "I will take full responsibility. But you must remove the seal. That is an order." Jiraiya scowled.

"You don't have to go that far."

"Musn't I?" Hiruzen responded quickly. "Time is of the essence Jiraiya."

Jiraiya took in a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. He had been sitting in the chair for twenty-six hours, not counting a fifteen minute smoke break he had taken with Hiruzen. He didn't smoke much, but it was times like this one that he needed something to take the edge off without losing his head.

He had finally cracked the seal, but there were a number of things that could go wrong. He didn't want to think about them though. He just wanted to focus on getting it right.

And so he got to work, carefully painting the characters required onto Obito's chest, one deliberate stroke at a time. The Hokage watched in silence, knowing that Jiraiya needed the utmost concentration. After a few minutes Jiraiya finished with the first part, and took a minute to gather his breath. After a few moments he brought his hands together and started to channel his chakra. The characters on Obito's chest began to glow, and steam begun to rise off of his chest. The characters from the old seal, as well as the new seal, had started to burn away, leaving tiny scorch marks on Obito's skin. The smell of charred flesh permeated through the room but Jiraiya and Hiruzen paid it no mind. After a few more tense moments Obito's chest was completely free of all markings and seals, though the metal rods still remained. At once Obito's eyes opened, slowly at first.

"What...where…?" His voice trickled out through weak lips, when suddenly his eyes shot open wide. "AGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" He began to writhe in agony as it felt like a hundred swords had been plunged through his chest. Jiraiya and Hiruzen were quite startled by the action and took a moment to react.

"Obito!" Jiraiya shouted, jumping forward and grasping onto the boy, attempting to hold him down. Jiraiya was much stronger than the young boy but he still found himself struggling.

Somewhere in the back of Obito's head he registered the sound of someone calling out his name.

' _Obito...that's my name...my…name….'_

He felt his head begin to float away and darkness enveloped his vision as he blacked out from the pain.

XxX

As Itachi's feet carried him down the road, he could not help but think of all he had read today. The words fluttered across his vision as if there were an endless scroll laid upon his eyes. Madara had been a truly powerful man.

He had learned of his great battles with the First Hokage, ones that had changed the very fabric of the landscapes. He had learned of his marvelous battle prowess and the unfathomable power of his techniques like the **Su'Sanoo** and **Amaterasu**. He had learned of Madara's conquest to know all there was and discover his true origins. It was all so overwhelming, but it had enlightened Itachi in so many ways.

Now he knew why the Uchiha were being scrutinized. The Sharingan had the capability to control the Nine-Tails, or any of the other Tailed-Beasts. Madara had demonstrated the fact many times. And for that reason the rest of the village distrusted the Uchiha.

But he was sure there was no Uchiha alive with the power to control the Nine-Tails. His father was certainly not that powerful. If the stories he had read were true, his father had but a whisper of Madara's true power. And as far as he knew, his father was the strongest one in his clan.

He was worried what this would do to his clan. His mind drifted back to the day of the Fourth Hokage's funeral, and the conversation his father had with two of his clan mates. They were already becoming restless. Soon they would call for action.

Itachi wished Shisui had been alive. He would have known what to do. How could Itachi stop his clan from letting their own frustration work against them? He was just a boy.

The thoughts in his head continued to swirl around like a tornado as he leisurely made his way home. Itachi knew they would not leave him alone until he came up with a valid solution. Maybe he would talk to his mother in the morning. He was sure she would be able to help him defuse the situation. He hoped.

XxX

 **A/N: Very excited. I've just identified all of the main players and pieced together part of the way to tie this story together. It's going to be very good I think. You all won't see any of this for a while but I finally have the true groundwork. It's going to be fun making the journey there. I hope you're all in for it because I'm going to try and blow you out of your seats.**

 **Big reveal this chapter. I decided not to keep it a secret. No point, more fun that way anyway. I think there will be one more chapter in this time period, and then there will be a slight time skip. One or maybe two. Gonna need to get this moving along now. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Thanks for reading.**

 **EDIT: So just realizing now that none of the linebreaks I but in carried over to the website in any of my chapters. That has been fixed now. So sorry about that.**


	6. Chapter 6

I'm sorry to be posting this update, but I think it's about time I finally accepted it. I am officially finished with Master of the Shadow Clones, and all other Fanfiction works I have published. I simply don't have the interest in fanfiction that I used to. As much as I'll always appreciate this place as my foray into writing, I have no desire to rekindle my passion with this particular style. I do wish I could have finished these, but realistically I never had enough to work with. I learned a lot though, and I wouldn't trade that for anything really. So thank you, all of you, who have read any of my works. I still can't believe my original MotSC got to almost 400,000 views. Never thought more than 100 would read it. Maybe one day I'll be back, but for now, it's farewell Fanfiction.


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